Band of blood brothers: Exploring visibility management and networking among Twitter users identifying as Filipino men living with HIV

The Philippines continues to grapple with a rising number of HIV cases, particularly among Filipino men who have sex with men. Notably, Filipino men living with HIV (FMLWH) are visible on Twitter (now X), despite Facebook’s dominance in the Philippines. The Twitterverse of FMLWH may be imagined as networked publics, with these users negotiating visibility management in the face of HIV-related stigmas and navigating context collapse in a high-visibility space. In this study, we explore the visibility management practices of Twitter users identifying as FMLWH and subsequently map their network structure. Our mixed-methods approach combined analysis of online trace data from 1447 public Twitter accounts with in-depth interviews conducted with 24 Twitter users. Findings revealed that FMLWH employed a range of visibility management practices on Twitter, including the use of succinct identifiers to disclose HIV status, the maintenance of pseudonymous identities, and a strategic shift from partial to greater visibility when engaging with other FMLWH in private communication spaces. Participants expressed a strong inclination to connect with fellow ‘blood brothers’ and were frequently directed to these users through algorithmic recommendations rather than word-of-mouth. An expansive network comprising 302,934 ‘follow’ ties connected all but two of the 1447 users. Network analysis also showed high reciprocity and short distances between actors. Despite these metrics, a relatively low degree of interconnectedness was found, suggesting that users formed their own smaller pockets of conversation. Overall, FMLWH exhibited a deliberate effort to manage their visibility on Twitter and demonstrated a level of connectivity and engagement that might not naturally occur in real-world settings. Furthermore, the affordances of Twitter facilitated the open disclosure of HIV status, traditionally considered a private and sensitive matter. These findings warrant further investigation into the formation of networked HIV social identities and the emergence of pseudonymous networked counter publics among FMLWH.