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Social Media #Memes and Early Public #Opinion #Formation Regarding Highly Pathogenic Avian #Influenza (HPAI) as a Public Health #Threat in the #USA

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By G.M.

 {Summary}

Misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories gain traction in times of uncertainty when little is known about a disease and when trust in government and public institutions is low. Amidst uncertainty, public health-related memes act as a sort of coping mechanism. Memes images, text, or video that serve as a shorthand form of communication—have the potential to spread quickly and widely on social media. While memes can be humorous, perhaps harmless, they can have serious effects at other times, as during the COVID-19 pandemic. One thing they have in common, however, is their transportability from user to user and platform to platform.  Frame analysis of Internet memes is useful for categorizing what we call frames of meaning in digital space. Unlike the agenda-setting function of mass media, in which gatekeepers (e.g., news editors) set the agenda regarding public issues, framing theory in the digital age is more dynamic, as content may take on different forms or formats, change over time, and the digital frame may traverse media platforms. Consumer-generated content (CGC) plays a significant role in setting the agenda or framing the event. Based onthe fluid nature of social networks and changes in the hierarchy of agenda setting, the model of connective action applied to public discourse on digital media can be visualized and analyzed through topic modeling to understand the role that memes play in shaping emergent public issues. In this study, we focused on memes shared in response to the current Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), specifically the H5N1 outbreak in the United States, to get a glimpse into the early stages of public opinion formation around a potential public health issue. We present this approach to study the situational awareness of this public health issue through analysis of memes as a form of public discourse and as a cost-effective tool for resource challenged public health agencies to scan the environment for emergent issues.

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Source: Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparedness/article/social-media-memes-and-early-public-opinion-formation-regarding-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-hpai-as-a-public-health-threat-in-the-united-states/5119C8A5DA2152D4392FC93BDCE575A8

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