The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted societies, having health, economic, political, and communication implications. Governments have had to plan and implement immediate communication strategies to explain the actions that have been taken and to manage public health campaigns. This research analyzes the Spanish Government’s communication strategy at national and international level since the announcement of the state of alert on 13 March until 9 May 2020. To this end, the 71 press conferences held by the Government have been analyzed, with the participation of 414 media outlets that have asked 1,069 questions, in addition to 1,080 publications on the official accounts of La Moncloa on Facebook and Twitter and information about Spain in the two main newspapers in six countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, USA, and UK). The results show a permanent presence of the Government, offering information via up to three press conferences on some days, revealing a strategy to control the subjects of discussion and their framing with warlike language associated with national unity. On social networks, the content related to administrative or service information prevails over image communication, with a clear dominance of press conferences and divergence between the communication interests of citizens versus the Government, preventing a true interaction between them. Regarding foreign press reports, 778 news items on Covid-19 in Spain were identified, with a prevalence in the US press and on economic rather than health issues.

Social networks have become areas of social interaction among young people where they create a profile to relate with others. The way this population uses social networks has an impact on their socialization as well as the emotional and affective aspects of their development. The purpose of this investigation was to analyze how Facebook is used by young people to communicate among themselves and the experiences they gain from it. On the one hand, while teenagers claim to know the risks, they admit to accepting strangers as friends and to sharing large amounts of true data about their private lives. For this reason, it is necessary to understand the media and digital phenomenon that the youth are living through. Although they are legally prohibited from using Facebook until they are 13, the number of underage users of this social network is growing, without any restraint from parents or schools. This investigation compares the use of Facebook by youth in Colombia and Spain by using the content analysis and interview techniques. In Colombia 100 Facebook profiles were analyzed and 20 interviews carried out with students between 12- and 15-years-old attending the Institución Educativa Distrital Técnico Internacional school in Bogotá. In Spain, 100 Facebook profiles were analyzed and 20 interviews held with students of the same age group attending various secondary schools in Andalusia. Las redes sociales se han convertido en ámbitos de interacción social entre los jóvenes, que crean un perfil para relacionarse con los demás. La exposición pública en el caso de los adolescentes puede generar problemas sobre aspectos sociales, emotivos y afectivos. Esta investigación analiza cómo se usa Facebook por parte de los jóvenes y qué experiencia obtienen de ello. Aunque dicen conocer los riesgos, admiten que aceptan a desconocidos como amigos y ofrecen datos reales sobre su vida. Ante esta situación, se hace más evidente la necesidad de la alfabetización mediática y digital de estos jóvenes que, aunque no deberían estar en Facebook hasta los 13 años, cuentan con un perfil de manera mayoritaria. Para ello se ha utilizado una metodología basada en el análisis de contenido y las entrevistas en profundidad. Se trata de un estudio comparativo entre Colombia y España. En Colombia se han realizado 100 análisis de perfiles y 20 entrevistas en profundidad. La muestra ha sido de adolescentes de 12 a 15 años, de la Institución Educativa Distrital Técnico Internacional de Bogotá. En España se han analizado 100 perfiles y se han realizado 20 entrevistas a chicos de 12 a 15 años, de Institutos (IES) de Andalucía.

The social media revolution has affected all areas, including activism. However, there is scepticism about its emancipatory capacity, and it is considered by some to be a distorted form of activism. This article presents a review of the existing literature on digital activism, starting with the concept itself, and examines its impact on the organisation of activists and citizen participation. Likewise, based on the platformisation of these spaces and the evolution of their affordances, we observe a growth in individual, strategic and low-commitment participation, the accentuation of the role of emotions in media that promote virality, and the assumption of playful forms of politainment by activists –especially on TikTok–. On the other hand, the strategies carried out by organisations to promote activism in relation to their causes are investigated, such as the generation of arguments provided by the interest group and the involvement in an action of dissemination, co-creation and replication of activists. Finally, the main challenges of digital activism are indicated: the growing inequality in terms of access to algorithmic visibility between activists and brands, influencers and interest groups; the desirability of complementing playful activism with work in alternative digital media that allows for more stable forms of collaboration; and the need to protect activists against the growth of hate speech on these platforms.

Mediante el presente artículo se pretenden analizar algunos de los problemas metodológicos más comunes que se presentan a la hora de evaluar las revistas científicas de comunicación y para ello se han tomado como referencia las 10 publicaciones indexadas en el Social Sciences Citation Index con mayor impacto. Mediante el análisis de contenido se estudiará la procedencia y vinculación académico-investigadora de los autores que aparecen reflejados en estas publicaciones, así como las temáticas de los artículos, los géneros y las metodologías utilizadas. Con todo ello se pretenden dos objetivos principales: por un lado analizar el papel de la evaluación de las publicaciones científicas en el ámbito de la comunicación en los procesos de valoración de la investigación lo que nos permitirá poner de manifiesto las dificultades de aplicación de los métodos bibliométricos de repercusión aplicados por la base de datos de Thomson Scientific y, por otro lado, establecer un marco de desarrollo de las publicaciones científicas españolas en el ámbito de la comunicación que cumplen algunos de los requisitos indicados pero que, bien porque su factor de impacto es aún bajo, o bien porque carecen de difusión internacional aún no han sido registradas en el Social Sciences Citation Index. Está investigación ha contado con financiación del Instituto de Investigación en Relaciones Públicas de la Universidad de Málaga.