Instagram As a Catalyst for Gemeinschaft During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Vietnam

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a pressing concern worldwide, and a range of media channels have played myriad roles to communicate information about it to populaces worldwide. This peer-reviewed blogpost provides research about how prominent social media influencers in Vietnam have used the photo-based platform, Instagram, to communicate information and foster social solidarity. Contribution: Through a textual analysis of select Instagram accounts, this blogpost contributes to the growing body of knowledge of how online personalities around the world have responded to the virus, with specific attention given to Vietnam, a country receiving widespread praise for its handling of the virus. Significance: This blog post was accepted for publication on the Witnessing Corona blog, a collaboration between the Global Studies South Center (Cologne), Curare: Journal of Medical Anthropology, and the blog “Medizinethnologie.” This peer-reviewed blog series seeks to address questions about a host of themes related to the coronavirus pandemic from a social science and/or medical anthropological perspective. This blog is accessible online and available to the public.