Social Media Platforms to Combat COVID-19 Pandemic in Ethiopia

The aim of this study was to assess social media platforms to combat coronavirus pandemic in Ethiopia for need-based communication to address COVID-19 information and to control infodemic information. A mixed research design was used. Self-administered questionnaires, interviews and document analyses were used to gather relevant data from active social media users and healthcare workers that were selected by a simple random sampling technique. The social media integrated theory model to evaluate social media platforms were used.Ministry of Health and Ethiopian Public Health Institute addressed need-based information for 46.75 million people in SMS in 3-6 days intervals, 22 million virtual societies and 7 million social media platform users. The study revealed that the participants used social media platforms: Facebook (83.1%), telegram (59.3%), YouTube (33.9%), web (13.6%), Twitter (11.9%) actively in a moderate way to grasp and share information related to COVID-19. Ministry of Health and Ethiopian Public Health Institute used as a center of COVID-19 information, and it helps to control the infodemic information that arises with the de-central source of information. They were using the World Health Organization communication protocol and strategies to combat the pandemic. Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) used social media platforms actively to combat the pandemic. The platforms enabled the public to express their feelings, needs and develop their awareness about COVID-19. The health institutions established the pandemic communication units from the federal to woreda level to disseminate the information and the materials to combat the virus. Yet, the health communication units were politicized.

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Infodemic Signal Detection During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development of a Methodology for Identifying Potential Information Voids in Online Conversations

JMIR Infodemiology ◽

10.2196/30971 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. e30971

Author(s):

Tina D Purnat ◽

Paolo Vacca ◽

Christine Czerniak ◽

Sarah Ball ◽

Stefano Burzo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

World Health ◽

Aggregated Data ◽

Response Planning ◽

Online Conversations ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Health Organization ◽

Over Time ◽

Social Listening

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an infodemic: excess information, including false or misleading information, in digital and physical environments during an acute public health event. This infodemic is leading to confusion and risk-taking behaviors that can be harmful to health, as well as to mistrust in health authorities and public health responses. The World Health Organization (WHO) is working to develop tools to provide an evidence-based response to the infodemic, enabling prioritization of health response activities. Objective In this work, we aimed to develop a practical, structured approach to identify narratives in public online conversations on social media platforms where concerns or confusion exist or where narratives are gaining traction, thus providing actionable data to help the WHO prioritize its response efforts to address the COVID-19 infodemic. Methods We developed a taxonomy to filter global public conversations in English and French related to COVID-19 on social media into 5 categories with 35 subcategories. The taxonomy and its implementation were validated for retrieval precision and recall, and they were reviewed and adapted as language about the pandemic in online conversations changed over time. The aggregated data for each subcategory were analyzed on a weekly basis by volume, velocity, and presence of questions to detect signals of information voids with potential for confusion or where mis- or disinformation may thrive. A human analyst reviewed and identified potential information voids and sources of confusion, and quantitative data were used to provide insights on emerging narratives, influencers, and public reactions to COVID-19–related topics. Results A COVID-19 public health social listening taxonomy was developed, validated, and applied to filter relevant content for more focused analysis. A weekly analysis of public online conversations since March 23, 2020, enabled quantification of shifting interests in public health–related topics concerning the pandemic, and the analysis demonstrated recurring voids of verified health information. This approach therefore focuses on the detection of infodemic signals to generate actionable insights to rapidly inform decision-making for a more targeted and adaptive response, including risk communication. Conclusions This approach has been successfully applied to identify and analyze infodemic signals, particularly information voids, to inform the COVID-19 pandemic response. More broadly, the results have demonstrated the importance of ongoing monitoring and analysis of public online conversations, as information voids frequently recur and narratives shift over time. The approach is being piloted in individual countries and WHO regions to generate localized insights and actions; meanwhile, a pilot of an artificial intelligence–based social listening platform is using this taxonomy to aggregate and compare online conversations across 20 countries. Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, the taxonomy and methodology may be adapted for fast deployment in future public health events, and they could form the basis of a routine social listening program for health preparedness and response planning.

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Temporal and Location Variations, and Link Categories for the Dissemination of COVID-19–Related Information on Twitter During the SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak in Europe: Infoveillance Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.19629 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Monika Pobiruchin ◽

Richard Zowalla ◽

Martin Wiesner

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Relative Proportion ◽

World Health ◽

Shared Resources ◽

Public Health Response ◽

External Resources ◽

Geographical Variations ◽

Social Media Platforms

BACKGROUND The spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, across Asia and Europe sparked a significant increase in public interest and media coverage, including on social media platforms such as Twitter. In this context, the origin of information plays a central role in the dissemination of evidence-based information about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19. On February 2, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) constituted a “massive infodemic” and argued that this situation “makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.” OBJECTIVE This <i>infoveillance</i> study, conducted during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, focuses on the social media platform Twitter. It allows monitoring of the dynamic pandemic situation on a global scale for different aspects and topics, languages, as well as regions and even whole countries. Of particular interest are temporal and geographical variations of COVID-19–related tweets, the situation in Europe, and the categories and origin of shared external resources. METHODS Twitter’s Streaming application programming interface was used to filter tweets based on 16 prevalent hashtags related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Each tweet’s text and corresponding metadata as well as the user’s profile information were extracted and stored into a database. Metadata included links to external resources. A link categorization scheme—introduced in a study by Chew and Eysenbach in 2009—was applied onto the top 250 shared resources to analyze the relative proportion for each category. Moreover, temporal variations of global tweet volumes were analyzed and a specific analysis was conducted for the European region. RESULTS Between February 9 and April 11, 2020, a total of 21,755,802 distinct tweets were collected, posted by 4,809,842 distinct Twitter accounts. The volume of #covid19-related tweets increased after the WHO announced the name of the new disease on February 11, 2020, and stabilized at the end of March at a high level. For the regional analysis, a higher tweet volume was observed in the vicinity of major European capitals or in densely populated areas. The most frequently shared resources originated from various social media platforms (ranks 1-7). The most prevalent category in the top 50 was “Mainstream or Local News.” For the category “Government or Public Health,” only two information sources were found in the top 50: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at rank 25 and the WHO at rank 27. The first occurrence of a prevalent scientific source was Nature (rank 116). CONCLUSIONS The naming of the disease by the WHO was a major signal to address the public audience with public health response via social media platforms such as Twitter. Future studies should focus on the origin and trustworthiness of shared resources, as monitoring the spread of fake news during a pandemic situation is of particular importance. In addition, it would be beneficial to analyze and uncover bot networks spreading COVID-19–related misinformation.

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Temporal and Location Variations, and Link Categories for the Dissemination of COVID-19–Related Information on Twitter During the SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak in Europe: Infoveillance Study

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/19629 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (8) ◽

pp. e19629

Author(s):

Monika Pobiruchin ◽

Richard Zowalla ◽

Martin Wiesner

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Relative Proportion ◽

World Health ◽

Shared Resources ◽

Public Health Response ◽

External Resources ◽

Geographical Variations ◽

Social Media Platforms

Background The spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, across Asia and Europe sparked a significant increase in public interest and media coverage, including on social media platforms such as Twitter. In this context, the origin of information plays a central role in the dissemination of evidence-based information about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19. On February 2, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) constituted a “massive infodemic” and argued that this situation “makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.” Objective This infoveillance study, conducted during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, focuses on the social media platform Twitter. It allows monitoring of the dynamic pandemic situation on a global scale for different aspects and topics, languages, as well as regions and even whole countries. Of particular interest are temporal and geographical variations of COVID-19–related tweets, the situation in Europe, and the categories and origin of shared external resources. Methods Twitter’s Streaming application programming interface was used to filter tweets based on 16 prevalent hashtags related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Each tweet’s text and corresponding metadata as well as the user’s profile information were extracted and stored into a database. Metadata included links to external resources. A link categorization scheme—introduced in a study by Chew and Eysenbach in 2009—was applied onto the top 250 shared resources to analyze the relative proportion for each category. Moreover, temporal variations of global tweet volumes were analyzed and a specific analysis was conducted for the European region. Results Between February 9 and April 11, 2020, a total of 21,755,802 distinct tweets were collected, posted by 4,809,842 distinct Twitter accounts. The volume of #covid19-related tweets increased after the WHO announced the name of the new disease on February 11, 2020, and stabilized at the end of March at a high level. For the regional analysis, a higher tweet volume was observed in the vicinity of major European capitals or in densely populated areas. The most frequently shared resources originated from various social media platforms (ranks 1-7). The most prevalent category in the top 50 was “Mainstream or Local News.” For the category “Government or Public Health,” only two information sources were found in the top 50: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at rank 25 and the WHO at rank 27. The first occurrence of a prevalent scientific source was Nature (rank 116). Conclusions The naming of the disease by the WHO was a major signal to address the public audience with public health response via social media platforms such as Twitter. Future studies should focus on the origin and trustworthiness of shared resources, as monitoring the spread of fake news during a pandemic situation is of particular importance. In addition, it would be beneficial to analyze and uncover bot networks spreading COVID-19–related misinformation.

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An Instagram-Based Study to Understand Betel Nut Use Culture in Micronesia: Exploratory Content Analysis

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/13954 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (7) ◽

pp. e13954

Author(s):

Wayne Buente ◽

Francis Dalisay ◽

Pallav Pokhrel ◽

Hanae Kurihara Kramer ◽

Ian Pagano

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Substance Use ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Cultural Context ◽

World Health ◽

Betel Nut ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Health Organization

Background A 2012 World Health Organization report recognizes betel nut use as an urgent public health threat faced by the Western Pacific region. However, compared with other addictive substances, little is known about how betel nuts are depicted on social media platforms. In particular, image-based social media platforms can be powerful tools for health communication. Studying the content of substance use on visual social media may provide valuable insights into public health interventions. Objective This study aimed to explore and document the ways that betel nut is portrayed on the photo-sharing site Instagram. The analysis focuses on the hashtag #pugua, which refers to the local term for betel nut in Guam and other parts of Micronesia. Methods An exploratory content analysis of 242 Instagram posts tagged #pugua was conducted based on previous research on substance use and Instagram and betel nut practices in Micronesia. In addition, the study examined the social engagement of betel nut content on the image-based platform. Results The study findings revealed content themes referencing the betel nut or betel nut tree, betel nut preparation practices, and the unique social and cultural context surrounding betel nut activity in Guam and Micronesia. In addition, certain practices and cultural themes encouraged social engagement on Instagram. Conclusions The findings from this study emphasize the cultural relevance of betel nut use in Micronesia. These findings provide a basis for empirically testing hypotheses related to the etiological roles of cultural identity and pride in shaping betel nut use behavior among Micronesians, particularly youths and young adults. Such research is likely to inform the development of culturally relevant betel nut prevention and cessation programs.

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An Instagram-Based Study to Understand Betel Nut Use Culture in Micronesia: Exploratory Content Analysis (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.13954 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Wayne Buente ◽

Francis Dalisay ◽

Pallav Pokhrel ◽

Hanae Kurihara Kramer ◽

Ian Pagano

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Substance Use ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Cultural Context ◽

World Health ◽

Betel Nut ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Health Organization

BACKGROUND A 2012 World Health Organization report recognizes betel nut use as an urgent public health threat faced by the Western Pacific region. However, compared with other addictive substances, little is known about how betel nuts are depicted on social media platforms. In particular, image-based social media platforms can be powerful tools for health communication. Studying the content of substance use on visual social media may provide valuable insights into public health interventions. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore and document the ways that betel nut is portrayed on the photo-sharing site Instagram. The analysis focuses on the hashtag #pugua, which refers to the local term for betel nut in Guam and other parts of Micronesia. METHODS An exploratory content analysis of 242 Instagram posts tagged #pugua was conducted based on previous research on substance use and Instagram and betel nut practices in Micronesia. In addition, the study examined the social engagement of betel nut content on the image-based platform. RESULTS The study findings revealed content themes referencing the betel nut or betel nut tree, betel nut preparation practices, and the unique social and cultural context surrounding betel nut activity in Guam and Micronesia. In addition, certain practices and cultural themes encouraged social engagement on Instagram. CONCLUSIONS The findings from this study emphasize the cultural relevance of betel nut use in Micronesia. These findings provide a basis for empirically testing hypotheses related to the etiological roles of cultural identity and pride in shaping betel nut use behavior among Micronesians, particularly youths and young adults. Such research is likely to inform the development of culturally relevant betel nut prevention and cessation programs.

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A shift from science to politics : a content analysis of COVID-19 Videos on YouTube (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.33948 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Chyun-Fung Shi ◽

Matthew C So ◽

Sophie Stelmach ◽

Arielle Earn ◽

David J D Earn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Large Scale ◽

Control Measures ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Health Campaigns ◽

Public Attention ◽

Conflicting Information ◽

Social Media Platforms

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic is the first pandemic where social media platforms relayed information on a large scale, enabling an “infodemic” of conflicting information which undermined the global response to the pandemic. Understanding how the information circulated and evolved on social media platforms is essential for planning future public health campaigns. OBJECTIVE This study investigated what types of themes about COVID-19 were most viewed on YouTube during the first 8 months of the pandemic, and how COVID-19 themes progressed over this period. METHODS We analyzed top-viewed YouTube COVID-19 related videos in English from from December 1, 2019 to August 16, 2020 with an open inductive content analysis. We coded 536 videos associated with 1.1 billion views across the study period. East Asian countries were the first to report the virus, while most of the top-viewed videos in English were from the US. Videos from straight news outlets dominated the top-viewed videos throughout the outbreak, and public health authorities contributed the fewest. Although straight news was the dominant COVID-19 video source with various types of themes, its viewership per video was similar to that for entertainment news and YouTubers after March. RESULTS We found, first, that collective public attention to the COVID-19 pandemic on YouTube peaked around March 2020, before the outbreak peaked, and flattened afterwards despite a spike in worldwide cases. Second, more videos focused on prevention early on, but videos with political themes increased through time. Third, regarding prevention and control measures, masking received much less attention than lockdown and social distancing in the study period. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that a transition of focus from science to politics on social media intensified the COVID-19 infodemic and may have weakened mitigation measures during the first waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is recommended that authorities should consider co-operating with reputable social media influencers to promote health campaigns and improve health literacy. In addition, given high levels of globalization of social platforms and polarization of users, tailoring communication towards different digital communities is likely to be essential.

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Mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 would be supported by less than fifty per cent: A Twitter poll analysis on public health opinion. (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.35754 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Valentin Ritschl ◽

Fabian Eibensteiner ◽

Erika Mosor ◽

Maisa Omara ◽

Lisa Sperl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Vaccination Coverage ◽

Digital Health ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Vaccination Rate ◽

World Health ◽

Vaccination Coverage Rate ◽

Twitter Users ◽

Mandatory Vaccination

BACKGROUND On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Committee declared the rapid worldwide spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) a global health emergency. By December 2020, the safety and efficacy of the first COVID-19 vaccines had been demonstrated. However, global vaccination coverage rates have remained below expectations. Mandatory vaccination is now being controversially discussed and has been enacted in some developed countries, while the vaccination rate is very low in many developing countries. We used the Twitter survey system as a viable method to quickly and comprehensively gather international public health insights on mandatory vaccination against COVID-19. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to understand better the public's perception of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in real-time utilizing Twitter polls. METHODS Two Twitter polls were developed to seek the public's opinion on the possibility of mandatory vaccination. The polls were pinned to the Digital Health and Patient Safety Platform's Twitter timeline for one week in mid-November 2021, three days after the official public announcement of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in Austria. Twitter users were asked to participate and retweet the polls to reach the largest possible audience. RESULTS Our Twitter polls revealed two extremes on the topic of mandatory vaccination against COVID-19. Almost half of the respondents (49% [1,246/2,545]) favour mandatory vaccination, at least in certain areas. This attitude is in contrast to the 45.7% (1,162/2,545) who categorically reject mandatory vaccination. 26.3% (621/2,365) of participating Twitter users said they would never get vaccinated, which is reflected by the current vaccination coverage rate. Concatenating interpretation of these two polls needs to be done cautiously as participating populations might greatly differ. CONCLUSIONS Mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 (in at least certain areas) is favoured by less than 50%, whereas it is vehemently opposed by almost half of the surveyed Twitter users. Since (social) media strongly influences public perceptions and views through and social media discussions and surveys specifically susceptible to the "echo chamber effect", the results can be seen as a momentary snapshot. Therefore, the results of this study need to be complemented by long-term surveys to maintain their validity.

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Hubungan Motif dan Kepuasan Penggunaan Media Sosial Instagram di Mahasiswa Komunikasi Penyiaran Islam Angkatan 2014-2017

AL MUNIR : Jurnal Komunikasi dan Penyiaran Islam ◽

10.15548/amj-kpi.v2i2.492 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 74-78

Author(s):

Ngudi Ambar Sari ◽

Bukhari Bukhari ◽

Usman Usman ◽

Prima Kurinati Hamzah

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

User Satisfaction ◽

Quantitative Research ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Simple Random Sampling ◽

Quantitative Research Methods ◽

The Public ◽

Media Usage ◽

Active User ◽

The Relationship

Instagram is one of the most popular social media for the public. One difference between Instagram and other social media, is that instamam is more likely to be used to find information and share information with users than to interact directly with fellow users. The purpose of this study is to find out and explain the motives and active user satisfaction in using Instagram social media and find out the relationship between the motives and satisfaction of Instagram social media usage. This study uses use and gratification theory which assumes that individuals have certain goals in using media. The method used in this research is quantitative research methods. The data collection tool is the questionnaire has been validated. The research sample was 70 people. The sampling technique is simple random sampling. The statistic test that the researchers used was the Partial Correlation Test (Pearson Product Moment). Data is processed using SPSS version 20. The results of this study indicate users want to get information and knowledge that is happening at the present time. Information satisfaction becomes the most obtained by Instagram social media users. Overall Instagram social media has given satisfaction to users and there is a significant relationship between motives and satisfaction.

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Program promotif poskestren terhadap PHBS santri di pondok pesantren

HOLISTIK JURNAL KESEHATAN ◽

10.33024/hjk.v14i3.2741 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 332-337

Author(s):

Lalu Dedy Supriatna ◽

Indasah Indasah ◽

Byba Melda Suhita

Keyword(s):

Random Sampling ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Simple Random Sampling ◽

World Health ◽

Health Post ◽

Healthy Living ◽

Holistic Model ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Health Promoting School ◽

Health Promoting

Pesantren Health Post (Poskestren) promotional program for Clean and Healthy Living Behavior (CHLB) among students at Islamic boarding schoolsBackground: Clean and Healthy Living Behavior (CHLB) school environment structure is an effort to empower students, teachers, and the school community to know, want, and be able to treat CHLB. This is in line with Health Promotion in educational institutions (Health Promoting School) launched by the World Health Organization which uses a holistic model that includes the relationship between physical, mental, social and environmental aspects.Purpose: To analyze the influence of the health post promotion program for Clean and Healthy Living Behavior (CHLB) among students at Islamic boarding schoolsMethod: An observational analytic study using a cross sectional approach. The sampling technique used simple random sampling, a sample of 271 respondents. The research instrument used a questionnaire with 20 question items. The data analysis technique used the chi-square test.Results: Obtained from 271 respondents with the Poskestren program (Promotive) in the less category, it will have an influence in the moderate category on the (CHLB) of students (36.16%). It is necessary to plan that is directed and sustainable in improving the quality for the implementation of the poskestren program in a promotional manner so that it can get better results.Conclusion: The Pesantren Health Post program promoted a significant effect on (CHLB) among students at Ad Diinul Qayyim Islamic Boarding School, West Lombok Regency, NTB.Keywords: Pesantren Health Post (Poskestren); Promotional program; Clean and Healthy Living Behavior (CHLB); Students; Islamic boarding schoolsPendahuluan: Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat (PHBS) tatanan lingkungan sekolah adalah upaya untuk memberdayakan siswa, guru, dan masyarakat lingkungan sekolah agar tahu, mau, dan mampu memperlakukan PHBS. Hal ini sejalan dengan Promosi Kesehatan di institusi pendidikan (Health Promoting School) yang dicanangkan oleh Organisasi Kesehatan Dunia yang menggunakan model holistik yang meliputi hubungan antar aspek fisik, mental, sosial, dan lingkungan.Tujuan: Untuk menganalisis pengaruh program promotif poskestren terhadap PHBS Santri di Pondok PesantrenMetode: Penelitian analitik observasional dengan menggunakan pendekatan cross sectional. Teknik sampling menggunakan simple random sampling, sampel sebanyak 271 responden. Instrumen penelitian menggunakan kuisioner dengan 20 item pertanyaan. Teknik analisa data menggunakan uji chi-square.Hasil: Didapatkan dari 271 responden dengan program Poskestren (Promotif) dalam kategori kurang maka akan memberikan pengaruh dalam kategori cukup pada PHBS santri (36.16%). Perlu perencanaan yang terarah dan berkesinambungan dalam meningkatkan kualitas untuk penerapan program poskestren secara promotif sehingga mendapatkan hasil yang lebih baik.Simpulan: Program Poskestren secara promotif berpengaruh secara signifikan terhadap PHBS pada santri di Pondok Pesantren Ad Diinul Qayyim Kabupaten Lombok Barat NTB.

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Effectiveness Of The Use Of Instagram Social Media On Personal Branding Joko Widodo In The First Voters 2019 Election

Widya Komunika ◽

10.20884/1.wk.2019.9.2.1746 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 63

Author(s):

Ahnaf Rifky Saputra

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

The Public ◽

Digital Era ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Independent Variable ◽

Personal Branding ◽

The Republic ◽

Use Of Social Media ◽

Positive Effect

In this digital era, all activities can be published to the public through social media. Many groups of people actively use social media ranging from students, adults, entrepreneurs and state officials. One of them is the seventh President of the Republic of Indonesia, Ir. H. Joko Widodo. Joko Widodo has a variety of social media platforms, social media with the most followers among other social media is Instagram. With a total of 16.5 million followers making him the leader of the country with the second most followers in the world. The content of uploads on Instagram of Joko Widodo is diverse and very massive, the things Joko Widodo does on Instagram social media is one way to form personal branding. Personal branding is a unique phenomenon because basically all people have their own characteristics, to get the results of long-lasting branding and provide maximum benefits, the branding process must come from authentic, real and original evidence. This study aims to determine how effective the use of social media instagram is for the formation of Joko Widodo's personal Branding to the 2019 First Election Voters who are still confused and need references to make choices in using their voting rights. This study uses a descriptive quantitative method of two variables. The independent variable in this study is the effectiveness of using social media instagram while the dependent variable is Joko Widodo's personal branding. This research was conducted by distributing questionnaires to 100 respondents using the Nonprobality Sampling technique. The results of this study state that the use of Instagram social media in delivering the desired message falls into the effective category with a percentage of 74.9% while the formation of personal branding for the first voters is included in the effective category with a percentage of 81.1%. The conclusion of this study is that the communication carried out by Joko Widodo's Instagram social media account took place effectively and had a positive effect on the formation of Joko Widodo's personal branding for the first voters of the 2019 Election. Keywords: Social Media, Instagram, Personal Branding, First Voters

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