Fear of others. Digital media representations of the US-Mexico border and COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic generated transformations in different areas of human life and socio-digital communication is central to its understanding. Users who post comments in the media and networks contribute elements to the social construction of reality. The objective was to interpret, through content analysis, representations of 1 303 users of four cross-border media from Baja California, Mexico, and California, usa, on Facebook, YouTube and web pages, about COVID-19 and the restrictions to cross the border. The closure of the border and COVID-19 constitute an emerging social phenomenon and previous research studies are scarce, which represented a limitation. In the end, the misinfor-mation-fueled representations were found to project fear onto others; the comments reflect the majority use of unverified information, hatred and attribution of blame for contagion to others. The border was represented as an interstice of intersec-tions and economic, cultural, political, environmental and health interdependence.