Abstract
ABSTRACT This study delves into the construction, communication, and reception of crisis narratives on TikTok, specifically focusing on videos discussing the purported origins of COVID-19 via the hashtag #covidorigin. Employing a content analysis approach, this research examines patterns in content types and their relationship with public engagement metrics such as views, likes, comments, and shares. This study observed that popular TikTok videos discussing the origin of COVID-19 majorly incorporated at least one of the following: a first-hand narrative (a story in the first-person), a secondhand narrative (an account someone heard from other people), and/or an informational report (e.g., legislative documents, news reports, and book summaries). Additionally, while U.S. intelligence agencies have yet to reach a consensus on COVID-19’s origin, this research detected a surge in #covidorigin videos following a 2023 interview in which FBI Director Wray stated that COVID-19 likely originated from a laboratory incident in China. Overall, this study suggests the influential role public leaders and media sources have in disseminating COVID-19 information and the importance of coherent crisis narratives in shaping public understanding. It also considers the effects of content types and communication formats in terms of how the public engages with speculative claims online.
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