Communication on Social Media in the Covid-19 Vaccination Campaign in Romania

Abstract

The present study analyses social media discourse in 2021, year two of the Covid-19 pandemic – more specifically, we are tackling appeals made by well-known personalities for people to get the vaccine. For the purpose of our research, we have selected four Romanian Facebook posts, two belonging to politicians in office, one to a young singer and the other one to a well-known actress. By looking into the ways in which these four personalities attempt to convince audiences to follow a certain course of action, we attempt to shed light on how their discourse is structured and how facts and emotion blend in order to convey a compelling message: get the vaccine so as to stop the spread of the lethal virus.