State‐level politicization of crisis communication on Twitter during COVID‐19: Conceptualization, measurement, and impacts

• Published date: 01 September 2023
• Author: Qian Hu,Wei Zhong
• Date: 01 September 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13653

SYMPOSIUM ARTICLE

State-level politicization of crisis communication on Twitter

during COVID-19: Conceptualization, measurement, and

impacts

Qian Hu

1

| Wei Zhong

2

1

Schar School of Policy and Government,

George Mason University, Arlington,

Virginia, USA

2

School of Public Policy and Management,

Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

Correspondence

Wei Zhong, School of Public Policy and

Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing,

China.

Email: wzhong@tsinghua.edu.cn

Funding information

National Natural Science Foundation of China,

Grant/Award Number: 72134003

Abstract

The political dimension of crisis communication remains understudied in public

administration. We defined the politicization of government crisis communication

as the employment of politics-oriented communication strategies in crisis messag-

ing. We further examined the state-level politicization occurring during COVID-19

and its influence on public engagement and policy compliance. We applied

machine learning algorithms to analyze 43,642 Twitter messages posted by fifty

US state governors, assessing the extent to which these governors politicized crisis

communication. We compiled data from multiple sources to explore the influence

of communication politicization on public engagement and compliance behaviors.

While most governors showed major concerns regarding reputation and blame,

their level of politicization and selection of communication strategies varied.

Increased levels of communication politicization discouraged the public’s online

engagement and policy compliance. Excessive levels of political consideration

could undermine the legitimacy and effectiveness of government crisis communi-

cation, and thus an examination of their relationship was essential.

Evidence for practice

•During crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, public officeholders tend to be

concerned with blame and reputation management and politicize their commu-

nication with the public.

•The extent to which crisis communication is politicized and the selection of

communication strategies vary with the level of crisis severity and party politics.

•An increased level of politicized crisis communication could reduce the public’s

engagement and compliance with policy guidance, suggesting that excessive

consideration of political matters might undermine the legitimacy and effective-

ness of government crisis responses.

•Public officeholders should increase the percentage of their crisis-related mes-

sages that cover the topics demanded by the public to encourage public

engagement and compliance behaviors.

INTRODUCTION

During crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, people

turn to the government for life-saving information. Public

officeholders are obligated to meet the public’s informa-

tion needs and provide timely, clear, and consistent mes-

sages (Ansell et al., 2021). However, in reality, politics

often interferes substantially with the government’s crisis

communication (Olsson, 2014), making it one of the most

useful areas of study regarding the political dynamics

influencing crisis communication and management

(‘t Hart, 1993; Jong, 2017; Olson, 2000). Politicians deliber-

ately take actions to influence their constituencies’per-

ception of them, and strategic crisis communication is a

key means at their disposal (Fenno, 1978; Mayhew, 1974).

During high-risk crises, crisis communication is the pri-

mary way public officeholders influence citizens’beliefs

and attitudes about the event, government, and public

Received: 8 April 2022 Revised: 21 April 2023 Accepted: 26 April 2023

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13653

1266 © 2023 American Society for Public Administration. Public Admin Rev. 2023;83:1266–1280.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/puar