Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2021 OA PDF

The WHO Health Alert: Communicating a Global Pandemic with WhatsApp

Josephine Walwema Oakland University

Abstract

Upon declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) orchestrated a global risk-communication outreach. The WHO’s objective was to persuade the public to upend and alter their lives so as to contain the disease and minimize its spread and infection. The WHO found a simple and efficient medium to communicate glocally through the social media application WhatsApp, through which individuals could access information without gatekeeping by governments and local agencies.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2021-01-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651920958507
Open Access
OA PDF Bronze
Topics
social media

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

  1. Baniya (2025)
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    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Lambrecht (2025)
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  3. MacDonald (2025)
    Communicating Global Governmentality: The United Nations Global Compact, BP, an…
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  4. Young (2025)
    Pandemic Communications Beyond Risk and Crisis: A Change of Course for Law Enfo…
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  5. Chen (2025)
    Constructed <i>Ethos</i> and <i>Kairotic</i…
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Show all 7 →
  1. Madson (2024)
    Cannabis Risk Communication: A Scoping Review with a Research Agenda
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  2. Moriarty et al. (2024)
    Reddit and Engaged Science Communication Online: An Examination of Reddit’s R/S…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (1)

  1. Simmons et al. (2007)
    Toward a Civic Rhetoric for Technologically and Scientifically Complex Places: …
    College Composition and Communication
Also cites 3 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1088/0963-6625/3/1/001
     ↗
  2. 10.1109/IPCC.2016.7740519
     ↗
  3. 10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.040
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 53 View in citation network →

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