Caring for an Information Crisis: Civil Society and ICTs against Inequalities during the Covid-19 Pandemic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60923/issn.2038-3460/18399Keywords:
care, telecare, ICTs, crisis, commons, intersectionalityAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic intensified existing inequalities among vulnerable populations, particularly where multiple factors, such as gender, age, nationality, and socioeconomic status, intersected. For these groups, one critical yet underexplored dimension of the crisis was informational: many faced uncertainty in accessing essential services and navigating daily life. Public policies often failed to address these challenges adequately, leaving civil society actors (CSAs), including NGOs, associations, and informal groups, to fill the gap, frequently through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). This article investigates how CSAs across Europe employed ICTs to support vulnerable groups during the pandemic. Drawing on data from nearly 300 initiatives mapped by the EU-funded RESISTIRÉ project, we apply the lens of care and telecare practices from Science and Technology Studies (STS) to analyse these responses. Our findings, based on a reflexive thematic analysis, suggest a diverse range of sociotechnical assemblages, from helplines and educational platforms to lobbying campaigns and mutual aid networks. ICTs were used not only to deliver remote health-related support but also to address emotional, educational, and structural needs. These practices varied in their level of user involvement and often relied on familiar technologies to reach digitally excluded populations. By highlighting bottom-up telecare practices, this study contributes to expanding the scope of crisis informatics and telecare research towards intersectional “matters of care” concerning vulnerable populations, emphasizing the role of CSAs and ICTs in shaping inclusive responses to information uncertainty during emergencies.
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