Extracting and categorising the reactions to COVID-19 by the South\n African public -- A social media study

2020/06/11 by Vukosi Marivate, Marivate, Vukosi, Avashlin Moodley +3
Computer Science · #Computation and Language (cs.CL) #Computers and Society (cs.CY) #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection #Sentiment Analysis and Opinion Mining #Social and Information Networks (cs.SI)

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2006.06336

openalex publication_date 2020/06/11 · openalex created_date 2022/10/03 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Social Media can be used to extract discussion topics during a disaster. With\nthe COVID-19 pandemic impact on South Africa, we need to understand how the law\nand regulation promulgated by the government in response to the pandemic\ncontrasts with discussion topics social media users have been engaging in. In\nthis work, we expand on traditional media analysis by using Social Media\ndiscussions driven by or directed to South African government officials. We\nfind topics that are similar as well as different in some cases. The findings\ncan inform further study into social media during disaster settings in South\nAfrica and beyond. This paper sets a framework for future analysis in\nunderstanding the opinions of the public during a pandemic and how these\nopinions can be distilled [in a semi-automated approach] to inform government\ncommunication in the future.\n

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