Portrayal of mental illness and suicide in Facebook posts by Australian news organisations

Background: Trends in news being increasingly accessed via social media warrants more attention to how mental illness and suicide news is being communicated on social platforms, which have the potential to amplify or mitigate stigma in wider audiences. Aims: This study aimed to determine how mental illness and suicide are portrayed in Facebook posts by Australian news organisations, and examine engagement trends with these posts. Method: A systematic search of 22 Australian news Facebook pages was conducted on Meta’s CrowdTangle database for posts about mental illness or suicide over a 1-year period. Results: Of the 1343 Facebook news posts identified, over half (55%) comprised “helpful” content. News posts featuring people with lived experience were the most common topics with helpful content, however harmful content was still prominent. Problematic content in news posts often included sensationalist, trivialising, or “suffering” language, and stigmatising or sensationalist quotes. Public engagement with news posts did not differ based on alignment with media guidelines. Conclusions: There is substantial room for improvement in how mental illness and suicide-related news is communicated on social media. Ensuring this aligns with responsible media guidelines will reduce public exposure to content that can perpetuate stigma and increase harms.