The shitposting scattergun approach: A multimodal analysis of the first wave COVID-19 social media messaging from UKGov

Abstract

This article analyses the type and style of the UK government social media messaging during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic using multimodal and social semiotic analysis. Images improve health communication by increasing comprehension of information, enhancing recall of instructions, encouraging positive self-protective attitudes and behaviour and are beneficial to those with low health literacy skills. When done well, visual material can meaningfully improve health outcomes. UKGov’s social media during COVID-19 reveals that production of mental noise and feed flooding can affect perceptions of risk. Recognizing the impact that both visuals and social media campaigns can have in crisis communication, this article first explores the steps in creating the social communication and then analyses social media posts during the first four months of the pandemic from UKGov Facebook and Instagram accounts. This article employs a multimodal social semiotic methodology to organize, code and make sense of the often contradictory and ambiguous meanings contained in a vast trove of visual data. Ultimately, this article argues that the UKGov’s ‘scattergun’ approach to the first wave COVID-19 infographics enhanced polysemic meanings and flooded social media feeds with ‘shitposting’ philosophy, which decreased clarity of understanding and potentially impacted health literacy amongst the UK populous.