The Ethics of Communication Discourse of the Egyptian Ministry of Health via Facebook during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analytical Study in the Light of Responsible Defense Theory
, Vol.14
, Sixty-second Issue
PP:17-18
Authors:
Ahmed Khairy Asran-PhD researcher ,Public Relations & Advertising Department,Faculty of Mass Communication,Cairo University
Abstract:
This study seeks to analyze the ethics of the communicative discourse of the Egyptian Ministry of Health through its official Facebook page during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the light of Responsible Advocacy Theory, which views the public relations practitioner as a professional actor who balances advocacy for the institution with service to the public interest. The study proceeds from the importance of ethical communication in health crises, where the role of the official institution is not limited to transmitting information, but extends to building trust, guiding behavior, combating rumors, and reducing the informational and psychological harms associated with the crisis.
The study relied on a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of a sample of posts published by the Egyptian Ministry of Health on Facebook during the COVID-19 pandemic. It aimed to identify the ethical values present in the discourse, the nature of the communication strategies used, the level of transparency, the mechanisms for addressing rumors, and the extent of institutional interaction with the public. The analysis was based on a set of categories measuring the nature of the published topics, the indication of general ethics, the type of media used, visual content, rumor handling, the presence of replies, level of transparency, nature of language, communication strategy, and the dominant ethical standard.
The findings revealed a clear presence of ethical values in the Ministry of Health’s communicative discourse, foremost among them responsibility, transparency, and guidance. However, this ethical presence took on an informational/instructional character more than a dialogic/participatory one. The findings also showed the dominance of a formal and informational tone in the posts, with a high reliance on reassurance and informational strategies, compared with a relative limitation in direct replies and institutional interaction with the public. The study also found that rumor handling was present in the official discourse, but was mostly reactive rather than proactive.
The study concludes that the Ministry of Health’s discourse on Facebook reflected an ethical pattern based more on message control and information management than on building interactive dialogue with the public. Accordingly, the study offers a critical reading of the ethics of official health communication in the digital environment and emphasizes the need to develop practices that strike a better balance between informational responsibility, interpretive transparency, and dialogic interaction during health crises.
Key Words:
Communication Ethics - Crisis Communication - Egyptian Ministry of Health - COVID-19 – Facebook - Responsible Advocacy Theory - Content Analysis – Transparency - Rumors.
Research Language:
Arabic
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