The social network management of the Peruvian government and ministries during the COVID-19 (2020)

The management of governments around the world in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on the agenda the importance of government information and management, in order to provide citizens with messages that provide certainty and calm in crisis contexts. Communication management has focused mainly on virtual environments, especially on digital social networks. This research analyzes the management of the Facebook pages of the government of Peru (19 ministries and the government's own page) during the first wave of the pandemic (March-September) through an observatory-descriptive study, with a mixed approach, focused in reviewing 5837 posts from the aforementioned accounts. The main findings show that there is a general decrease in interactions (reactions and comments) during the study time, which is independent of the type of content shown; and it is highlighted that a greater number of publications does not necessarily imply more interactions with the virtual community. It is concluded that the communication management of the Peruvian government through Facebook focused on understanding the public as clients and allies, and very little as citizens who could invite them to be part of social actions.