CRISIS COMMUNICATION THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA IN TIMES OF WAR

A CONTENT ANALYSIS

  • Mădălina-Maria TOMA University of Bucharest
Keywords: crisis, war, social media, dialogic communication, renewal discourse

Abstract

In a significant escalation of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a military invasion of Ukraine was launched by Russia on February 24, 2022. This military campaign followed a period of buildup of Russian military forces from early 2021 and a series of demands made by Russia for security measures and legal restrictions against Ukraine's potential membership in NATO. Since the events leading up to the Russian military operation in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky has used social media to expose his actions related to tensions with Moscow. At the dawn of the armed conflict, the Ukrainian president used the pages of the ministries and his official profile to promote his leadership figure and exalt his leadership in this issue. The present paper aims to investigate, using Dialogic Communication Theory (Kent & Taylor, 2002) and Renewal Discourse Theory (Ulmer & Sellnow, 2002), how the Russian-Ukrainian war (the "aggression" in official discourse) is presented in the posts of President Volodymyr Zelensky through the most used social networks in Ukraine (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). The research provides valuable insights into how social media communication can increase stakeholder support and foster constructive discussions about progress. The analysis also shows that dialogue needs to be open, adaptive, unambiguous and participatory in order to engage with all relevant people.

Author Biography

Mădălina-Maria TOMA, University of Bucharest

Toma Mădălina-Maria is a PhD student at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication at the University of Bucharest, Romania. Her research interests include crisis communication, organizational communication and public relations, and the topic of her dissertation is "Crisis communication of airlines in the online environment during the pandemic period". Since October 2022, she is also a doctoral assistant at the Faculty of Letters and Communication Sciences at the University "Ștefan cel Mare" from Suceava, where she teaches the subjects Internal Communication, Crisis Communication, Organizational Theory, Event Organization, Information Gathering Techniques, Development of a Public Relations Product, Writing Public Relations Materials, Introduction to Public Relations, Research Methods in Communication Sciences, Public Discourse Technique and Communication and Negotiation Techniques.

Published
2023-07-01
How to Cite
TOMA, M.-M. (2023). CRISIS COMMUNICATION THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA IN TIMES OF WAR. International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation (IJSEIro), 10(20), 160-172. Retrieved from https://journals.aseiacademic.org/index.php/ijsei/article/view/302
Issue
International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation, Vol. 10, Issue 20, 2023
Section
Articles

Copyright (c) 2023 Author

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