Abstract

Natural disasters disrupt group stability but also bring out the potential in social capital, aiding in organizing collective responses, social norms and sanctions. In the digital environment, two forces can swiftly modify social norms: the digital propaganda discourse on the digital sphere and platform affordances. As social media has transformed Italian political propaganda, shaping a new form of communication distinct from the past, recognizing the role of affordances in the normative context is crucial. Twitter’s communicative arena operates based on these affordances, continually evolving and shaping new communication strategies. Politicians leverage these affordances to advance their goals, engaging with their audience uniquely. Observing changing social norms, especially during crises like Covid-19, is possible from the perspective of the technical communication system. This study explores collective resilience and social norms during Italy’s first Covid-19 wave, considering political and technical dimensions. Analysing two catalytic events through digital ethnography and content analysis of tweets, focusing on #Milanononsiferma and #Navigli, reveals distinct patterns in the first wave of the pandemic in Italy. In the first phase, conflicting opinions among experts and politicians made health issues challenging to identify. Social sanctioning targeted mask-wearing individuals. In the second phase, severity forced a convergence of natural and artificial factors, shifting sanctioning towards unmasked crowds. This evolution can be understood through socio-technical features: the extensive use of hashtags on Twitter may have amplified messages from political leaders and media, intensifying the a lowcost sanctioning and the adoption of norms that bolster social capital and a sense of belonging.