Communicating COVID-19 on Twitter at supranational and national levels: The European Union and Portugal with “the ball in their court”

Abstract

This article focuses on COVID-19 communication on Twitter at supranational and national levels, namely by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Portuguese prime minister, António Costa. A mixed method approach, based on content, discourse, and rhetorical analysis, was employed. The results show that von der Leyen’ tweets focused mainly on measures to combat COVID-19 while Costa’s tweets focused mainly on responsibility. In both cases, economic support and recovery was the second most frequently mentioned theme, while frames relating to solutions, causal relations, moral judgments, and problems were also emphasized. Von der Leyen tended to highlight the importance of vaccination while Costa tended to highlight scientific expertise. Ethos was employed by the two leaders mainly through references to responsibility/fulfilment of duty. Pathos was employed to inspire mainly both positive emotional responses, such as impulse to action, feelings of support, desire for unity, and confidence/optimism/calm, and negative emotional responses, such as anxiety/apprehension/concern and disappointment. Logos was employed mainly through reference to numbers and science, use of stylistic devices, and exemplification.