Does aggressive tweeting by the government help to control the COVID‐19 outbreak? Evidence from China

Shilin Zheng and Mengdan Li

Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, 2022, vol. 30, issue 4, 691-713

Abstract: This paper estimates the role of the usage of the largest social media platform in China, Sina Weibo, by the Chinese government for controlling the COVID‐19 pandemic. Manually collected governmental microblogs about the COVID‐19 outbreak were analysed, which showed that a 10 per cent increase in the number of microblogs resulted in a 1.38 per cent decrease of confirmed COVID‐19 cases. This effect was more pronounced in areas with less restrained travel restrictions. The effect relies primarily on two mechanisms: encouraging home quarantine and promoting knowledge about COVID‐19 prevention.

Date: 2022
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https://doi.org/10.1111/ecot.12318

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:ectrin:v:30:y:2022:i:4:p:691-713

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