Digital Storytelling Discourses in International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ Mobile Cinema Campaign Against the 2024 Cholera Outbreak in Nigeria
Article

This study examines the potential of mobile cinema and digital storytelling as innovative strategies for public health campaigns in response to the 2024 cholera outbreak in Nigeria. Employing the critical discourse analysis (CDA) method, the study undertook three layers of analysis of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC’s) mobile cinema titled How Cholera Spreads (produced in collaboration with the Global Health Media Project). Besides the video’s popularity and wide circulation across digital media platforms in Nigeria, its rich treatment of thematic issues relating to the nature, history, symptoms, spread, and prevention of cholera necessitated its adoption for analysis. The health-themed narratives embedded in the mobile cinema suggest the need to create awareness and orient the public to make informed decisions in the face of the cholera outbreak. The study revealed the IFRC mobile cinema’s portrayal of the significance of systemic and socio-environmental approaches as key to addressing the underlying causes of the cholera outbreak. From an interpretive standpoint, the digital storytelling discourses sustained in the mobile cinema reflect strategies for behaviour change through the tendentious portrayal of preventive measures that, when adhered to, may have a profound impact in preventing/reducing further incidence of cholera disease.

Social Media Civic Activism During COVID-19: Content and Sentiment Analysis of Malaysia’s Food Bank Campaign
Article

Abstract
This paper examines the role of the Food Bank Campaign as civic activism during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on strategic communication through social media by Yayasan Food Bank Malaysia. Using content analysis of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter posts, along with interviews, the study explores how different communication strategies affected public engagement. In addition, sentiment analysis was conducted using the Valence Aware Dictionary and sEntiment Reasoner (VADER) tool to assess the emotional tone of audience responses across platforms. Grounded in Framing Theory, PR Excellence Theory, and Strategic Communication Theory, the study highlights the importance of two-way communication in building lasting relationships with stakeholders. Findings show that engagement levels varied based on message content, visuals, and the parties involved, with grassroots communities and corporate partners playing key roles. However, gaps in responding to underprivileged communities’ inquiries were identified. The paper underscores the importance of interactive, two-way communication in fostering long-term relationships with stakeholders, offering practical insights for NGOs on how to effectively use social media for civic activism both during and after crises.

Abstrak
Artikel ini mengkaji peranan Kempen Food Bank sebagai satu bentuk aktivisme sivik semasa pandemik COVID-19, dengan memberi tumpuan kepada komunikasi strategik melalui media sosial oleh Yayasan Food Bank Malaysia. Dengan menggunakan analisis kandungan terhadap hantaran di Facebook, Instagram dan Twitter, serta temu bual, kajian ini meneliti bagaimana strategi komunikasi yang berbeza mempengaruhi penglibatan awam. Selain itu, analisis sentimen turut dijalankan menggunakan alat Valence Aware Dictionary and sEntiment Reasoner (VADER) bagi menilai nada emosi respons khalayak merentas platform. Berpandukan Teori Pembingkaian, Teori Kecemerlangan Perhubungan Awam dan Teori Komunikasi Strategik, kajian ini menekankan kepentingan komunikasi dua hala dalam membina hubungan yang berterusan dengan pihak berkepentingan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa tahap penglibatan berbeza berdasarkan kandungan mesej, visual dan pihak yang terlibat, dengan komuniti akar umbi dan rakan korporat memainkan peranan penting. Walau bagaimanapun, jurang dalam memberikan respons terhadap pertanyaan komuniti kurang berkemampuan turut dikenal pasti. Artikel ini menegaskan kepentingan komunikasi dua hala yang interaktif dalam memupuk hubungan jangka panjang dengan pihak berkepentingan, di samping menawarkan panduan praktikal kepada NGO tentang cara menggunakan media sosial secara berkesan untuk aktivisme sivik, sama ada semasa mahupun selepas krisis.

A Communication Approach Towards Decent Work Measurement: The Case of Filipina Gig Workers Using Online Platforms
Article

This paper proposes the use of a communication approach to decent work measurement, arguing on (1) the interdisciplinary nature of decent work, (2) the mediated aspect of gig work using platforms, and (3) the use of a communicative lens to center the experiences of women in the Global South. As a communication theory, Dutta’s Culture-Centered Approach (CCA) tenets—culture, structure, and agency—were applied to the narratives on working aspirations (i.e., opportunities, social protection, adequate working time and workload, meaningful remuneration, and health and safety) of Filipina gig workers using online platforms. With the goal of empirical saturation, in-depth interviews were conducted among thirty-two informants, including those involved in transactional transfer work in major delivery services, local delivery services, and independent work through social media. The online platforms included applications by major transport and delivery service providers in the Philippines (i.e., Grab, Angkas, Joyride, Lalamove) and those that use social media platforms, particularly Facebook and Facebook Messenger. Findings reveal rich and gendered work experiences on working aspirations. These narratives were then translated into decent work measures.

Alliance Building as a Communicative Action by Anti-Mining Advocates in the Philippines
Article

As we assert the role of communication as an empowerment tool (Rowlands, 1997) and perceive how effective democracies depend on an understanding of the sources and mechanisms of public discontent (Matejova, 2023), this study mainly focuses on how communication enables alliance building of environment advocates, especially in a deeply polarized issue of anti-mining as applied by Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM). In gathering the data, a combination of procedures was employed to capture a rich picture of the phenomenon: (1) document analysis, (2) participant observation, (3) photo-elicitation, and (4) in-depth interview. Data analysis was performed by following the steps in grounded theory. The findings of this study are presented in a theoretical model that demonstrates that the advocates’ communicative approach is a complex process consisting of motivations of the advocates for joining in the campaign, intervening conditions, use of various communication strategies, and outcomes, which are all constitutive to how alliance building as communication for development operates.

Volume 23 Issue 01 · June 2026 · Playful Pushback and Routinary Resistance · Main Article