Purpose

The aim of this study is to examine the information needs and information seeking behaviors of Israeli citizens during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020, with an emphasis on the dissemination of digital information by government agencies.

Design/methodology/approach

The research approach underlying this investigation is of the “case study” type, employing semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted with 24 Israeli citizens regarding their perceptions and experiences with government information and government services during the first months of the coronavirus.

Findings

The findings of this study reveal that most participants indicated feelings of media fatigue as a result of increased exposure to news media and social media, to the point of experiencing information overload. Second, participants described feeling a lack of clear information and poor access to accurate health and official information at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis in Israel. Third, participants in the authors’ study noted that most of the information to which they were exposed about the virus came to them through communal connections such as friends and family, via social media and messaging apps like WhatsApp. In general, the participants expressed satisfaction with the quality and availability of the data and extensive information of government ministries on social networks, together with a lack of satisfaction due to difficulties in usage and a lack of clear information on traditional government websites.

Originality/value

The findings present the information acquisition and the experience of citizens in situations of national emergencies and crises, in a new light, through a focus on the dissemination of government, health and news information.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 爆发期间以色列公民的信息需求和寻求行为

目的

本研究的目的是调查 2020 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 爆发期间以色列公民的信息需求和信息寻求行为，重点关注政府机构数字信息的传播。

设计/方法论/途径

本次调查采用的研究方法是“案例研究”类型，采用半结构化的深度访谈方式对 24 名以色列公民进行访谈，了解他们在冠状病毒爆发的头几个月对政府信息和政府服务的看法和经历。

发现

这项研究的结果表明，大多数参与者表示，由于接触新闻媒体和社交媒体的次数增加，导致出现媒体疲劳感，甚至达到了信息过载的程度。其次，参与者表示，在以色列发生 COVID-19 危机之初，他们感到缺乏明确的信息，并且很难获得准确的健康和官方信息。第三，作者研究的参与者指出，他们接触到的有关该病毒的大部分信息都是通过朋友和家人等公共联系、社交媒体和 WhatsApp 等即时通讯应用程序获得的。总体而言，参与者对社交网络上政府部门的数据和广泛信息的质量和可用性表示满意，

原创性/价值

研究结果通过关注政府、卫生和新闻信息的传播，以新的视角呈现了公民在国家紧急情况和危机情况下的信息获取和经验。