Illustrated Report: How Gun Violence Goes Viral
A digital drawing, made with black pencil and red and neon-blue gouache, shows a teenager standing in the center. The figure’s human head has been replaced with a red rose, which is losing its petals. The rose petals fall around the figure with drops of water, symbolizing tears. The figure’s body is half within a broken smartphone, the frame of which is colored the same red as the rose. In the background, smaller red cellphones are aligned horizontally. Their screens show a combination of guns, a happy human teen with a friend, and a memorial of the same teen. Behind everything, the base background is black and ominous.
(Oona Tempest/KFF Health News)

Illustrated Report: How Gun Violence Goes Viral

By Oona Zenda and Liz Szabo

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As chatter and images about guns and violence slip into the social media feeds of more teens, viral messages fueled by “likes” can lead to real-world conflict and loss.

This illustrated report has been adapted from a California Healthline article, “‘All We Want Is Revenge’: How Social Media Fuels Gun Violence Among Teens,” by Liz Szabo

A digital drawing made with black pencil and red and neon-blue gouache. A teen figure covers their eyes with their hands as red smartphones with violent imagery swarm around them. Smoke covers the teen’s head and top of the screen. In that space, text reads: “Most teens have a cellphone, a lot have access to guns, and many are coping with mental health crises. It’s not surprising that violence features so heavily in their social media feeds. That violence spills into the real world with deadly consequences.”
This illustration is of a teen in emotional distress. With two hands, a red smartphone is held in a position that implies a person is texting. Angry ghosts are popping out from behind the text message. The text message reads: “Although today’s tech-savvy teens can create sophisticated videos, they may remain naive about the consequences of posting violent content.”
A smartphone shows three images repeating on its screen: a teen holding a fan of money over their face, two teens smiling with their arms around each other, and a teen holding a gun pointed toward the camera. Beside the phone, text reads; “Tucked between photos with friends are selfies with guns and stacks of cash. Sometimes teens will call out rivals on social platforms, too. When content goes viral, the danger is hard to contain.”
In the center of the image, two teens are having a physical fight. All around them, hands hold up cellphones, recording their fight. Heart and thumbs-up emojis bubble up around them. On the bottom of the image, text reads: “On social media ‘fight pages,’ physical confrontations IRL are distributed and amplified online.”
A teen is looking over their phone, appearing upset as they type. Gloomy, ghost-like, negative energy bursts from the phone and encircles the teen and in a spiral that covers the entire image. Text reads: “At-risk teens, like those emerging from the juvenile justice system, need extra support. Some need help finding housing, mental health care, and/or substance abuse treatment. They tend to be more vulnerable to violence that’s fueled online.” An image of a house, clothing, food, and medication are drawn beside the text.
A dizzying pattern of repeating cellphones covers the page. On the screen of a phone, text reads: “Tech companies say they try to delete violent content ASAP. But a post can get hundreds of views in minutes. Even critics acknowledge that social media, with its billions of users, is difficult to control. If a company closes accounts, teens just look for ways to open new ones.”
A shield is in the center of the image. A row of cellphones with guns is protected behind it. A long paper bill weaves in and out between the phones and behind the shield. Below, the hands of protesters raise signs. The text reads: “A 1996 law shields social media companies from liability for content posted on their platforms. But the deaths of young people have inspired calls for reform: ‘When you allow a video that leads to a shooting, you bear responsibility.’”
This illustration shows a small memorial setup. A picture frame is in the center, surrounded by flowers and candles. Some of the candles have been knocked over, and the vase is cracked. In the picture frame, text reads: “Outreach workers say they’ve never faced a force as formidable as social media, where boasting can escalate into deadly cycles of violence. Amid outpourings of grief are posts that show rivals kicking over flowers and candles at memorials. Some are ominous: ‘All we want is revenge.’”
The final illustration in the series is of a shattered cellphone on the ground. Stray bullets surround it, and a single rose has been placed on top. Text reads: “The U.S. surgeon general has warned of social media’s ‘profound risk of harm’ to teens’ mental health. However, it failed to recognize social media’s role in escalating gun violence.”
A credits page, illustrated with a single rose, reads: “Adapted from the KFF Health News article “‘All We Want Is Revenge’: How Social Media Fuels Gun Violence Among Teens” by Liz Szabo / Illustrated by Oona Tempest / Edited by Chaseedaw Giles, Kelly Johnson, John Hillkirk, and Damon Darlin / Copy edited by Terry Byrne”

This article was produced by KFF Health News, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism. 

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