Commenting on violations of COVID-19 restrictions: an ethnography of communication focusing on three European media discourses

Abstract In this ross-cultural study, we examine the local resources utilized in negotiating the implementation of and (non-)adherence to COVID-19 rules and regulations in the European context. Our data were collected in Bulgaria (a story from a morning show, an accompanying news report on Facebook, and more than 500 comments to it), Finland (four news articles from national media outlets and more than 700 discussion entries to them), and Latvia (about 200 articles and the accompanying comments posted to online news platforms and Facebook). We apply the theoretical and methodological framework of the ethnography of communication focusing on cultural terms for talk and cultural discourse analysis. The data are examined for the local cultural means of navigating COVID-19 rule violations. In applying the ‘terms for talk’ framework to three cases we identify a strong cultural preference for not saying anything based on a differing local cultural logic. Our analysis also reveals tensions between literal messages about communication and broader cultural messages. We find that references to authorities and social structures reflect local historically transmitted beliefs and values about social action, institutions, and personhood, and the ways in which they deeply shape negotiations of rule violations. We interpret the comments on others’ behavior as an individual through historical and political ideology (communism and Russian influence in Bulgaria and Latvia, respectively) and notions of hierarchy (Finland). Examining such diverse cultural logics and the ways they impact public health discourse is crucial for the creation of public (health) policy.