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Top1. Introduction
In the context of a new technological revolution, innovation and the accumulation of knowledge take place primarily in digital technology (Chen et al., 2022). Supported by digitalization, the dissemination of information has evolved in a globalizing world, from traditional methods to the use of social media platforms. Furthermore, it should be considered that data and information are the most valuable resources (Bhardwaj et al., 2022). This process has been intensified by the critical situation that has arisen since Covid-19, as social platforms become a worldwide connection tool, making it possible to offer real-time content about society's concerns.
Computational intelligence techniques have grown since they are able to mine information, allowing to optimize the identification of key assets for social development (Nedjah et al., 2022). Thus, the information extracted from unstructured data acquires special relevance in research. Social networks are ubiquitous in nature, which is being combined with cloud computing, through which users explore new ways of interacting (Chard et al., 2010). Due to the interaction between individuals and the different topics they address, social networks constitute online communities. Mačiulienė and Skaržauskienė (2020) indicated that online communities, in turn, provide the bases of civic platforms, giving rise to the development and incubation of new ideas and generating interconnected networks. Hence, social networks make it possible to share thoughts, feelings, and opinions with the rest of society instantly and easily (Öztürk and Ayvaz, 2018). Therefore, many authors have used data science to generate research and performance metrics linked to the information available in society (Saura, 2021a). Over time, social network accounts become a part of individual's online identity, as it stores various personal data and contains the network of acquaintances (Yen et al., 2021).
There is a strong relationship between the rise of religious awareness and a range of issues, exemplified by the link between religion and natural disasters proposed by Bentzen (2019). Thus, reflecting the link between religion and misfortunes proposed by Osheim (2008), many people have turned to faith for peace of mind during Covid-19 (Koening, 2020). Moreover, religion should be understood as an influential factor in people's understanding of the world: it is considered an element of individual identity, capable of generating high impact links and influence in social networks globally.
A detailed analysis is proposed of the influence of news disseminated in Twitter cloud by Pope Francis (@Pontifex) from 01/03/2020 to 16/10/2021, a period linked to the pandemic situation. The reasons for this are that Italy was the first western country affected by the pandemic (Remuzzi and Remuzzi 2020), that religion has been understood by authors as an element that helps to cope with critical situations (Osheim, 2008). Following the analysis and testing of the methodology in the rest of the Pope's official accounts in other languages, only the influence of Pope Francis' account (@Pontifex) in English and Spanish (@Pontifex_es) is considered. These are the accounts with the most followers, representing 72% (36% in both cases) of the total number of followers of Pope Francis in all his Twitter accounts. This similarity in the numbers of followers allows a comparative and longitudinal analysis throughout the different phases proposed in the research.
In order to analyze the influence of religion during Covid-19 and using UGC published on Twitter as a data source, the following questions were addressed: