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 Tempest 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 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.”

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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