Chapter 5: Expanding Audiences or Limiting Them? The Dilemma of Local Participation in an Online Global COVID-19 Prevention Campaign

The rise of technology and the internet has resulted in a more interconnected world, where borders no longer restrict global communication. Although this may seem ideal and technology has paved the way for participatory forms of communication, such as social media, the digital divide and local contexts can challenge the efficacy of participatory global campaigns.

This chapter explores the interpretation of universal health communications and the participation of localised audiences. The example of the global WHO #Safehands Handwashing campaign launched on Twitter (X) during the COVID-19 pandemic is used to understand its efficacy at a local level, for young people in South Africa. Three focus group discussions were conducted with 12 students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and transcribed and subjected to a thematic analysis. The data reflect that whilst the reception of the campaign was positive overall, young people participating in the research were not inspired to take part in the campaign and recreate the handwashing videos within the campaign as envisaged by its creators. This is largely due to local living conditions, where some participants did not have basic amenities such as running water, which prevented them from both participating in the campaign and adopting the behaviours it promoted. When planned participatory campaigns unintentionally exclude certain sectors from participating, they may be viewed as irrelevant or alienating. This chapter highlights the different contexts and experiences globally and the need for considering the interpretive communities, particularly within Africa and the Global South, before participatory media campaigns are designed.