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

摘要

In 2014, a deadly Ebola virus outbreak caught the world’s attention. At the height of thiscrisis, future president of the United States, Donald Trump, tweeted about Ebola’s threat toAmericans.Throughout the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the vibrant nature of, and public familiaritywith, apocalyptic frames allowed the rhetoric of social media users, like Trump, toconstitute an apocalyptic counterpublic where unsubstantiated claims increased public panicin the United States. This article demonstrates that health crises, like the 2014 Ebolaoutbreak, can be exaggerated through communication from traditional media, governmentinstitutions, and social media.