Romanian Pandemic-Themed Memes on Facebook and Their Contribution to the Climate of Fear

This paper examines the role of pandemic-themed memes (PTMs) on Facebook in shaping public perception and contributing to a climate of fear during the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania. Focusing on a selection of popular Romanian meme pages (MPs), such as Junimea, Omu Paiangăn, Ion Creangă, and 2Meme, this research employs a systematic quantitative and qualitative analysis of the content shared between early March and mid-May 2020 (covering the local onset and peak of pandemic-related restrictions). The findings reveal that PTMs accounted for up to 65.79% of the total content on these pages, which highlights the dual role of memes as both coping mechanisms and amplifiers of fear during crises and provides insights into how digital humor influences public discourse and how social media platforms contribute to shaping collective experiences during global events.