Citation

Donald Trump tweets the 2014 Ebola outbreak: The infectious nature of apocalyptic counterpublic rhetoric and constitution of an exaggerated health crisis

Author:
Salek, Thomas A.; Cole, Andrew W.
Publication:
Communication Quarterly
Year:
2019

In 2014, a deadly Ebola virus outbreak caught the world’s attention. At the height of this crisis, future president of the United States, Donald Trump, tweeted about Ebola’s threat to Americans.Throughout the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the vibrant nature of, and public familiarity with, apocalyptic frames allowed the rhetoric of social media users, like Trump, to constitute an apocalyptic counterpublic where unsubstantiated claims increased public panic in the United States. This article demonstrates that health crises, like the 2014 Ebola outbreak, can be exaggerated through communication from traditional media, government institutions, and social media.