From humour to rumour to concern – the UAE reacts to the Coronavirus

Social media analysis of the evolving perceptions around the Coronavirus pandemic

The Coronavirus has come to dominate daily life in the UAE as more and more restrictions are put in place to halt the spread of the disease. The public’s perception and understanding of the pandemic has evolved since the virus first emerged, with social media a key platform that people have taken to for asking questions, expressing concerns and sharing news about what is happening.

At Anavizio we took a look at the discussions taking place on social media – and twitter in particular – to see what the UAE authorities, media, citizens and residents are saying and how the conversation has evolved since the first cases were reported in the country in late January.

We looked at data from over 400,000 social media posts provided by our friends at social listening company Pulsar to track how attitudes and perceptions about the virus have changed between 29 January and 17 March. 

Overall – as highlighted in our infographic – we noticed the nature of social media conversations initially revolved around news about what was happening elsewhere mixed with humour and rumours about such things as the garlic cure, heat killing the virus or the disease being spread through products imported from China. This gave way to concerns about health, the impact on children’s learning and the economic impact by the end of the research period.

The evolution of public perceptions can be divided into four distinct phases:

The first phase, running from late January thru the first week of February, was mostly defined by people sharing news about developments in China and subsequently about the first cases reported in the UAE. There were some calls to stop or limit flights to and from China, a move that was subsequently announced by the authorities on 3 February.

Following a flurry of social posts around the first UAE cases, the second phase saw the conversation slow down in mid-February. Posts were dominated by news of what was happening elsewhere as well as some questions about how to protect oneself including the sharing of so-called remedies such as the garlic cure.

The third phase saw the seriousness of the situation begin to hit home in late February and early March when the UAE Tour was cancelled, nurseries and schools were closed and Saudi Arabia announced the suspension of Umrah permits. The number of posts, retweets, shares and replies increased from 2,000-3,000 per day in mid-February to 13,000 on 27 February – the day of the UAE Tour and Umrah announcements – and 13,000 again on each of 4 and 5 March when it was announced that schools would close.

Phase four was characterized by an explosion of social media activity, with posts, retweets, shares and replies continuing to increase into the second week of March, rising to 15,000 on 9 March before peaking at 37,000 on 16 March in the wake of the closure of entertainment, leisure and cultural venues as well as places of worship across the UAE.

Reactions to the increasing restrictions imposed by the UAE authorities have by and large been supportive, although people are naturally disappointed that so much of public social life has ground to a halt. 

For their part, the federal and local authorities – spearhead by the Ministry of Health and Prevention – have acted as an important source of information and advice, for instance stepping in to dispel rumours and myths such as garlic being able to protect against the Coronavirus.

Individual physicians and medical establishments have also taken to providing advice and addressing myths on social media as have the major media outlets. The Arabic media in particular, led by news channels Sky News Arabia and Al Arabiya along with newspapers such as Al Bayan, have been particularly influential through their widespread reach.

It will be interesting to see how social media conversations continue to evolve over the coming weeks and months, especially once the focus turns to the social and economic fallout from the pandemic and the simple question of what happens next?

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