Research Article: Social network analysis of COVID-19 vaccine YouTube videos in Odisha, India: mapping the channel network and analyzing comment sentiment
Abstract:
India has reported more than 35 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nearly half a million cumulative deaths. Although vaccination rates for the first vaccine dose are quite high, one-third of the population has not received a second shot. Due to its widespread use and popularity, social media can play a vital role in enhancing vaccine acceptance. This study in a real-world setting utilizes YouTube videos in Odisha, India where the platform has deep penetration among the 18–35 target population, and secondarily their family and peers. Two contrasting videos were launched on the YouTube platform to examine how those videos operate within the broader recommender and subscription systems that determine the audience reach. Video analytics, algorithms for recommended videos, visual representation of connections created, centrality between the networks, and comment analysis was conducted. The results indicate that the video with a non-humorous tone and collectivistic appeal delivered by a female protagonist performed best with regard to views and time spent watching the videos. The results are of significance to health communicators who seek to better understand the platform mechanisms that determine the spread of videos and measures of viewer reactions based on viewer sentiment.
Introduction:
More than 315 million cases have been recorded and more than 5.5 million people have died worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic [1]. Facing the second-largest burden of COVID-19 disease, India has reported more than 35 million confirmed cases and nearly half a million cumulative deaths [2]. India’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign, the world’s largest vaccination program, was initiated in early 2021. The objective of the campaign was to fully immunize all 1.3 billion Indian citizens against COVID-19 by the end of…
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