Garcetti embraces Twitter as the public seeks answers
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has been faced with a challenge, serving L.A. during a global pandemic. Similar to Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, Garcetti has turned to social media to inform the public regularly.
The mayor has been using Twitter to post the latest updates for the city of L.A. regarding Covid-19 and other news related to the coronavirus pandemic.
He has increased his social media presence and many people are turning to his tweets to get the absolute latest news.
Garcetti is tweeting daily on information surrounding the virus. His tweets include information on new city wide orders, business closures, testing information and live briefings. His followers are responding to his tweets and they are not getting direct responses.
On March 31 at 6:40 p.m. Garcetti tweeted, “We are expanding testing across L.A. County and opening new sites so that everyone can access COVID-19 tests. Our registration portal is now available in collaboration with the @CountyofLA. If you are eligible, please make an appointment at http://Coronavirus.LACity.org/Testing.”
If someone has symptoms of Covid-19 or has been prevented from working due to contact with someone with Covid-19 then they are eligible for testing according to the mayor’s tweet. There are now 22 testing locations provided by L.A. County and they have since tested 37,000 people.
L.A. County’s population is over 10 million people as of the 2018 U.S. Census Bureau report. According to the same report, 70.8% of people in L.A. County identify as White and 48.6% of people identify as Hispanic or Latino.
Currently, the county is on a Safer at Home order issued by as of March 19. Angelenos have been ordered to stay at home when possible and to only leave their homes for essentials such as grocery or pharmacy pick-ups.
Restaurants in L.A. County are now pick-up and/or delivery only as dine-in eating is not allowed at this time. On April 10, Garcetti tweeted that the city of L.A. has extended its Safer at Home order to May 15.
Prior to using his @MayorOfLA Twitter account for primarily updating people on the latest news surrounding COVID-19, Garcetti used his mayor Twitter account for other topics such as discussing projects for the L.A. river and the city’s progress on the issue of homelessness. After March 7 the mayor’s Twitter account has remained focused on reporting on COVID-19.
Garcetti also has a personal Twitter account (@ericgarcetti) in which his bio reads, “Angeleno. Public Servant. Mayor. Not paid for, sponsored by, or hosted by city of L.A. Ads paid for by the DVF. Tweets from Mayor Garcetti signed EG.” Within the last month, there were no tweets signed EG.
Garcetti has been highly active on his @MayorOfLATwitter account. In the last week of March alone (from March 25-31) he tweeted, not including retweets, a total of 64 times. His first tweet on April 3 was at 12:08 p.m. later that day, 10 tweets later his last tweet was at 7:39 p.m.
On a particularly more active day such as April 1 when he tweeted 15 times that day his first tweet was posted was at 10:35 a.m. and at 8:20 p.m. he tweeted his last tweet for the day. However, none of these tweets were signed EG and it is unclear who is actually tweeting these.
L.A. is currently at 10,075 confirmed cases and 366 deaths as of this writing, Garcetti has been tweeting daily to the people of L.A. and his followers on Twitter around the world. Many who were not used to seeing the mayor’s posts are now used to seeing his posts daily. Like Gov. Cuomo, the mayor of L.A. has begun to receive more popularity on social media since his increased activity during the global pandemic.
“I have noticed his presence more on social media since the pandemic. I see him popping up on my feed a lot more because Angelenos need to see what actions he’s taking during the crisis and we need updates more often from him because things are constantly changing every hour. A lot more people even outside L.A. are definitely paying more attention to him because he’s made major moves that calls for everyone’s attention,” Sasha Padilla, a Downey resident said.
His tweets have received many replies and people asking Garcetti questions with their concerns during the pandemic.
Tweets like: “All “essential” employees should also be receiving hazard pay, instead of being told they can just quit if they aren’t happy. Please protect ALL Los Angeles citizens, especially the most vulnerable,” from @LaurenAshbury.
And tweets like: “Mr. Mayor, if you are expanding so that “everyone” can have access to tests, then why is there an eligibility requirement?” from @st3v3R0uss3au.
Garcetti is not responding to his constituent’s inquiries, at least not on Twitter. The mayor is, however, continuing to inform his followers on steps people should be taking to ensure their safety as well as informing Angelenos on new policies being put in place during the pandemic. He is using Twitter to ask his followers to join him for live briefings in which he discusses the latest information surrounding COVID-19.
On March 30, Garcetti tweeted, “We have seen images of dangerously crowded farmers markets –– so I’m announcing the temporary suspension of farmers markets pending City review of physical distancing plans needed to keep communities safe. We will review plans immediately so markets can stay open this week.” The mayor responded to no one.
Twitter is a fast and accessible platform for the Mayor’s Office to utilize during this time especially when many people don’t know where to turn to for information surrounding COVID-19.
On April 2 Garcetti tweeted that he is now urging the people of L.A. to wear face covering in efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. In an Instagram post from April 1 urging the use of face masks Garcetti’s caption stated, “Early data suggests many who are infected with COVID-19 are not symptomatic, which is why we are recommending you use cloth face coverings plus physical distancing for essential activities. Do not use surgical and N95 masks, which are reserved for first responders and medical workers.” Since face masks have become increasingly difficult to find many have begun making their own out of cloth materials or are using bandanas.
Since then the mayor has been seen wearing a cloth face mask in photos in his tweets and also changed his Twitter profile photo to a photo of himself wearing a black cloth face mask to reinforce the official city guidance that was issued.
The people of L.A. are responding to the tweets sent out by Garcetti’s mayor account but they are not being responded to. In a time of crisis, his constituents and followers are asking for answers to their inquiries.
As every day regarding the coronavirus is a minute-by-minute scenario his next tweet about Covid-19 remains a mystery.
Sabrina Picou is a journalism student at The New School in New York City covering politics, local events, arts and culture.