Government spent $235,000 on social media 'listening reports' during pandemic
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Loading... - Reece Gibson
- 16 May 2022
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Act leader David Seymour said far from following science, the Government followed social media chatter to guide thinking on huge decisions such as MIQ and alert levels.
"These may be the most expensive social media reports ever received by the New Zealand Government," Seymour said today.
In a written Parliamentary question, Seymour asked Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins how much funding was spent on the so-called social listening reports.
Hipkins said the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet commissioned reports from social media listening reports provider Annalect in April 2020 after the first national lockdown started.
They were commissioned through OMD, the media buying agency for the Covid-19 response.
Analysts used a tool called Brandwatch Consumer Research to observe major themes regarding the pandemic, analysing local social and digital news content.
Hipkins said data analysed was already in the public arena from Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and other local blogs and forums.
"Analysis was undertaken on the most current topics relating to Covid-19, for example: setting changes, new variants, vaccinations and health behaviours," Hipkins wrote.
"It also included analysis on issues of ongoing concern to the response, such as mental health and domestic violence," he added.
DPMC spent $133,894.50 for 58 social media analysis reports for the 2020/21 financial year, and $100,799.00 for 92 reports in the following financial year, up to April 2022. Read More…
