Multimodal health communication: A Thai and American comparison of COVID-19 face-mask campaigns
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Abstract
This study analyzes visual and verbal semiotic resources in online poster campaigns promoting mask-wearing during COVID-19, with a comparative focus on health communication in the American and Thai contexts. 40 posters were collected in August 2023 from Facebook, Instagram, X, and official websites of government agencies and universities using non-probability sampling. Verbal semiotic resources (ideational, interpersonal, and textual metafunctions) were examined and coded in relation to advertising slogans, commodity exchanges, and lexical choice, while visual resources were analyzed in terms of representational, interpersonal, and compositional functions. Interactions between the two modes were assessed across corresponding components. Findings show that posters employed symbols (e.g., masks), a demanding gaze, medium camera angles, and non-action in the visual mode, alongside persuasive tone and hyperbolic exaggeration in the verbal mode. These modes appeared to be mutually reinforcing. Thai posters tended to feature longer sentences and a greater reliance on vivid colors, while Americans seemed to focus on a limited range of colors to maintain their professionalism and credibility. The study contributes to multimodal social semiotics by demonstrating how verbal and visual semiotic resources jointly shape persuasive health communication, emphasizing multimodality as integrative rather than additive. Cross-cultural comparison highlights both universal strategies (e.g., masks, persuasive gaze) and culturally specific practices (e.g., vivid colors in Thailand), underscoring the importance of culturally sensitive approaches to health risk communication.
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