A sentiment analysis of the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in the media and social media

The negative and unbalanced nature of media and social media coverage has amplified anxieties and fears about the Ebola outbreak. The authors analyse news articles on the Ebola outbreak from two leading news outlets, together with comments on the articles from a well-known social media platform, fro...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: John, Blooma, Baulch, Bob, Wickramasinghe, Nilmini
Formato: Capítulo de libro
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: IGI Global 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143327
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author John, Blooma
Baulch, Bob
Wickramasinghe, Nilmini
author_browse Baulch, Bob
John, Blooma
Wickramasinghe, Nilmini
author_facet John, Blooma
Baulch, Bob
Wickramasinghe, Nilmini
author_sort John, Blooma
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The negative and unbalanced nature of media and social media coverage has amplified anxieties and fears about the Ebola outbreak. The authors analyse news articles on the Ebola outbreak from two leading news outlets, together with comments on the articles from a well-known social media platform, from March 2014 to July 2015. The volume of news articles was greatest between August 2014 and January 2015, with a spike in October 2014, and was driven by the few cases of transmission in Europe and the USA. Sentiment analysis reveals coverage and commentary on the small number of Ebola cases in Europe and the USA were much more extensive than coverage and commentary on the outbreak in West Africa. Articles expressing negative sentiments were more common in the USA and also received more comments than those expressing positive sentiments. The negative sentiments expressed in the media and social media amplified fears about an Ebola outbreak outside West Africa, which increased pressure for unwarranted and wasteful precautionary measures.
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spelling CGSpace1433272025-12-08T10:06:44Z A sentiment analysis of the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in the media and social media John, Blooma Baulch, Bob Wickramasinghe, Nilmini analysis diffusion of information journalism ebolavirus epidemics social media The negative and unbalanced nature of media and social media coverage has amplified anxieties and fears about the Ebola outbreak. The authors analyse news articles on the Ebola outbreak from two leading news outlets, together with comments on the articles from a well-known social media platform, from March 2014 to July 2015. The volume of news articles was greatest between August 2014 and January 2015, with a spike in October 2014, and was driven by the few cases of transmission in Europe and the USA. Sentiment analysis reveals coverage and commentary on the small number of Ebola cases in Europe and the USA were much more extensive than coverage and commentary on the outbreak in West Africa. Articles expressing negative sentiments were more common in the USA and also received more comments than those expressing positive sentiments. The negative sentiments expressed in the media and social media amplified fears about an Ebola outbreak outside West Africa, which increased pressure for unwarranted and wasteful precautionary measures. 2020-01-01 2024-05-22T12:13:25Z 2024-05-22T12:13:25Z Book Chapter https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143327 en Limited Access IGI Global John, Blooma; Baulch, Bob; and Wickramasinghe, Nilmini. 2020. A sentiment analysis of the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in the media and social media. In Handbook of Research on Optimizing Healthcare Management Techniques, ed. Nilmini Wickramasinghe. Chapter 14, Pp. 202-212. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-1371-2.ch014
spellingShingle analysis
diffusion of information
journalism
ebolavirus
epidemics
social media
John, Blooma
Baulch, Bob
Wickramasinghe, Nilmini
A sentiment analysis of the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in the media and social media
title A sentiment analysis of the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in the media and social media
title_full A sentiment analysis of the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in the media and social media
title_fullStr A sentiment analysis of the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in the media and social media
title_full_unstemmed A sentiment analysis of the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in the media and social media
title_short A sentiment analysis of the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in the media and social media
title_sort sentiment analysis of the 2014 15 ebola outbreak in the media and social media
topic analysis
diffusion of information
journalism
ebolavirus
epidemics
social media
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143327
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