The Spanish general elections of 20 December 2015 and 26 June 2016, which can be understood as an electoral continuum, were notable for being the first case of a repeated election in Spain’s history, the consequence of the difficulty in forming a government due to the emergence of two new political forces, Podemos and Ciudadanos, led by Pablo Iglesias and Albert Rivera, respectively. We analysed the Twitter communications of these political leaders in both election campaigns using quantitative and qualitative research techniques, we also compare the overall results with the results of the Top Discussion Indicator (TDI). The main objectives of the study were: a) to determine the degree of influence and the ability to create community of both political leaders; b) to identify strategic communication differences between the two leaders and changes between the two campaigns; and c) to investigate the interconnections between their Twitter profiles and media profiles (mainly Spanish newspapers and TV channels). Our findings indicate that issues linked to their own campaigns were the most discussed by these politicians. It is noted that political leaders have little capacity to influence beyond their own community on Twitter, in this sense, hybridization with traditional media and, in particular, with television helps to penetrate beyond the digital sphere. In addition, it was found that Pablo Iglesias and Albert Rivera interacted most with Atresmedia and Prisa group media.

Las elecciones generales de 2016 fueron atípicas porque supusieron la primera repetición electoral de nuestra democracia como consecuencia de la incapacidad para formar gobierno tras los comicios de diciembre de 2015. En este contexto, se estudia el uso de Twitter por parte de los actores políticos emergentes que impidieron la formación de gobierno al acabar con el sistema bipartidista que dominaba el sistema político desde la transición. Los objetivos de investigación son: analizar los contenidos difundidos durante la campaña electoral por los actores analizados. Investigar las similitudes y diferencias entre los mensajes difundidos por los partidos y, por los líderes, observando que actores lograron viralizar más sus contenidos. Para el desarrollo de la investigación se utiliza una metodología mixta. Los resultados revelan que las funciones principales por las cuales los partidos y los líderes políticos utilizan Twitter en la campaña electoral son: la contra campaña y la auto promoción.

El presente trabajo analiza la gestión comunicativa en Twitter de los atentados terroristas ocurridos en La Rambla de Barcelona y en Cambrils los días 17 y 18 de agosto de 2017. Se investiga el uso que hicieron de la plataforma las instituciones públicas competentes encargadas de la gestión de la emergencia. El análisis se focaliza en el período comprendido entre el 17 y el 24 de agosto. El estudio emplea metodología mixta, usando como principales técnicas de investigación el análisis cuantitativo de las métricas de Twitter y el análisis de contenido. Se concluye que Protección Civil y Mossos de Esquadra fueron los mayores gestores de la crisis. Pero, los perfiles de Policía Nacional, Guardia Civil y del Ministerio del Interior fueron los que obtuvieron mayor viralidad. Finalmente, se debe destacar que la información que transmitieron los perfiles político-institucionales como la Consejería de Interior y los ministerios fue de poco interés ciudadano, cayendo en la ‘sobreexposición de la política’.

Resumen: La crisis del Ébola en España fue una crisis sanitaria que tuvo lugar en 2014. Esta crisis tuvo consecuencias políticas como la dimisión de la exministra de sanidad del Gobierno del Partido Popular, Ana Mato, sociales como grandes movilizaciones en diferentes territorios del país, y humanitarias como la discusión en relación con el contagio del misionero español Manuel García y el de la auxiliar de enfermería Teresa Romero; e incluso se produjeron debates éticos en entorno al sacrificio de la mascota de Teresa Romero, Excalibur. La investigación tiene por objetivo analizar en qué medida y de qué forma las administraciones y los medios de comunicación utilizaron Twitter para comunicarse con la ciudadanía. Teóricamente se fundamenta en el campo sociológico del riesgo y en el ámbito de la comunicación y el periodismo en entornos digitales. La metodología es de tipo mixta y se concluye que los medios de comunicación convencionales siguen siendo fundamentales para comunicar las emergencias.Palabras clave: Ébola en España; Twitter; emergencias; administraciones públicas; medios de comunicación; ciudadanía.Abstract: The Ebola crisis in Spain was a health crisis that took place in 2014. This crisis had political consequences such as the resignation of the former health minister of the Popular Party Government, Ana Mato, social as large mobilizations in different territories of the country, and humanitarian as the discussion regarding the contagion of the Spanish missionary Manuel García and that of the nursing assistant Teresa Romero; and there were even ethical debates surrounding the sacrifice of Teresa Romero’s mascot, Excalibur. The research aims to analyze to what extent and in what way administrations and the media used Twitter to communicate with citizens. Theoretically, it is based on the sociological field of risk and on the field of communication and journalism in digital environments. The methodology is mixed, and the research concluded that traditional media are still fundamental to communicate emergencies.Keywords: Ebola in Spain; Twitter; emergencies; public administrations; the media; citizenship.

In January 2021, the storm Filomena paralysed Spain. One of the most affected cities was Madrid, which suffered a general collapse for several days. Metro de Madrid (underground railway company and one of the most popular public services in the city) continued to provide service to its users. Silvia Roldan (CEO of Metro de Madrid) wrote a daily post on LinkedIn to explain to users what problems they were facing, how they were being solved and how the service was ensured. Metro de Madrid is an underground railway company that was inaugurated in 1919. It extends over 294 kilometres distributed in 302 stations. It employs 7,000 persons. Other data of Metro de Madrid are: 2,400 cars, 8,758 security cameras, 1,263 vending machines, 2,424 tele-indicators, 1,703 escalators, 541 lifts and 5,386 intercoms. "LinkedIn is a social network that has a great attraction, you are addressing a professional audience, which judges you on the basis of the work you do", says the CEO of Metro de Madrid in an interview conducted to illustrate this research. This research is based on two hypotheses: 1) In a crisis context, direct communication between a company's executive and stakeholders reduces uncertainty and helps to restore institutional equilibrium; and 2) It is possible to find a paradigmatic model in this type of communication with specific stakeholders. This research carried out a quantitative and qualitative analysis using a content analysis of Roldan’s posts on LinkedIn during this crisis and an interview with the CEO of Metro de Madrid. This case gives us some lessons in communication as main results. LinkedIn is an optimal platform for crisis communication, especially if we want to transmit moderately long messages, with nuances, aimed at a professional audience willing to listen and dialogue. Roldan’s colloquial and friendly tone used in her posts are justified in this case (Filomena crisis). She is CEO of the company, direct witness of the facts and responsible for the solutions that are implemented. She uses the first-person narrative, which produces closeness and is a good remedy against uncertainty. It complements institutional messages, transmitted through institutional media and channels, which use a more aseptic and formal tone. The use of photographs in the published posts establishes an emotional links between the author of the post and readers. Readers feel like a direct witness of the facts, especially when the photograph is a subjective close-up. LinkedIn, despite not being Metro de Madrid's main communication channel, is a useful and valuable platform for communicating in emergency situations, even in a more personal and less institutional way than other platforms. Perhaps its greatest virtue is to target a professional and specialised audience, which can be proactive in the resolution of an emergency. The use of LinkedIn in emergency situations is still under-researched compared to other social platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram. This article is part of the competitive research project: “Crisis and emergency communication in Social Media. Study of its use in Spain and design of information protocols for institutions and media (COMCRISIS - PID2019-109064GB-I00)” granted and funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Spanish Government.