Social Media in the Army. An Analysis of the Operation Supporting the covid-19 Pandemic (Operation Balmis) in Spain

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2024.231

Keywords:

Army, Balmis, covid-19, sentiment analysis, polarity

Abstract

The pandemic originated by covid-19 led to the execution of military operations in support of civil efforts. Specifically, in Spain, Operation Balmis was carried out. This study presents research based on social network analytics that monitored the institutional Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts of the Spanish Army from 01/01/2020 to 28/09/2020, with the aim of analyzing profile behavior and the digital community's reaction. A sentiment analysis was conducted on a total corpus of 2,151 posts and 136,171 comments. Mean comparison tests were applied between phases - pre-Balmis, Balmis, and post-Balmis - to study the existence of differences. The results showed significant changes between phases regarding polarity, emotions, and clusters, as well as a significant increase in activity on Twitter and Facebook. Discussion revolves around the population's preferences for posts centered on themes of compassion, proactivity, and empathy from the institution.

Author Biographies

Diego Delgado Bujedo , Ejército de Tierra

Base Militar "Cid Campeador", Regimiento de Ingenieros Nº1, Ejército de Tierra, España

Raquel Lozano Blasco , University of Zaragoza

Departamento de Psicología y Sociología, Universidad de Zaragoza.

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Published

2024-06-26

How to Cite

Delgado Bujedo, D., & Lozano Blasco, R. (2024). Social Media in the Army. An Analysis of the Operation Supporting the covid-19 Pandemic (Operation Balmis) in Spain. Spanish Journal of Sociology, 33(3), a231. https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2024.231