Abstract

The main themes of vaccine hesitancy identified in a growing body of scholarship include freedom and mistrust in government and institutions, and critique of government handling of the pandemic. Social media is a prevalent source of information in developing attitudes and subsequent behaviours, but government messaging continues to be the most trusted source in a public health crisis. However, vaccine acceptance depends on the government adapting to the fast-changing and increasing influence of social media on the public’s attitudes and behaviours. This research studies the messaging of and public response to government communications which informs attitudes, barriers, compliance, and patterns of denialism and vaccine hesitation. This study sought to determine if a Covid-19 infodemic contributed to the current health crisis in Alberta by amplifying inconsistent messaging disseminated by provincial officials. The methodology includes collecting and analyzing messaging from six Government of Alberta Covid-19 update videos, corresponding reciprocal comments on social media, and em qualitative analysis of relevant academic material. Together, these aspects help frame and inform the need for a clear, consistent, integrated government response, and how messaging has the power to influence, possibly contributing to a fourth wave of Covid-19 in Alberta. Vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, and denialism are prevailing themes on social media, but could early, effective government response have staved off Alberta’s fourth wave of Covid-19? Conclusions from data collected are a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature surrounding effective pandemic and crisis messaging. This research did not provide conclusive results to indicate whether official messaging contributed to an infodemic. Further study of Alberta’s crisis communications during this pandemic would be a valuable addition to the literature and would help inform future crisis communications.

Keywords: Misinformation, sensemaking, messaging, crisis communication, infodemic