Hashtag activism in a politicized pandemic: Framing the campaign to include Taiwan in the World Health Organization’s efforts to combat COVID-19

Abstract

We examined hashtag activism promoting Taiwan’s participation in the global efforts to combat COVID-19. We employed the computational Analysis of Topic Model Networks (ANTMN) to examine the discourse around the #TaiwanCanHelp/#TWforWHO campaign in 2020 ( N = 163,876) on Twitter. Our model identified 35 topics clustered within three frames. The containment frame emphasized strategies used to stop COVID-19’s spread in Taiwan. The geopolitics frame described China’s use of its international power to exclude Taiwan from the World Health Organization. The international cooperation frame emphasized Taiwan’s ability and efficacy to contribute to the global efforts to slow down COVID-19. These results extend our understanding of hashtag activism by examining the intersection of geopolitics and global health crises. We introduce the theoretical concept of a mutually beneficial coalition, one that points to detrimental impacts of oppression on both the oppressed and the allies who are asked to help.