Communicating COVID-19: Metaphors We “Survive” By

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to de­scribe the framing of the pandem­ic that the world currently endures during the mandatory quarantine taking place in Argentina. This par­ticular study is part of a bigger cor­pus of research that investigates the relationship between discourses held by enterprises, politicians and media in the digital age and how it affects communication at times of crisis. This is a qualitative study that explores emerging metaphorical language that is being implemented to communicate salient aspects of the unprecedented phenomenon that is COVID-19 in a partial way. It is important to point out that the analysis is made at the same time that the crisis is unfolding. In order to develop this perspective, we will rely on a previous framework developed to study communication of crisis. Our research has led us to identify a “family” of metaphors that emerge from the headlines of the cor­pus: war, care and time. Identifying and understanding the emerging met­aphors is the first step to avoid contra­dictions that can lead to double binds. Keywords: crisis, pandemic, digital me­dia, metaphors, double binds.