Analyzing Opioid Epidemic Narratives on Social Media
Problem
Social media’s impact on the opioid crisis was relatively unexplored.
Despite opioids costing more than 760,000 lives plus billions of dollars in health care expenses, criminal justice costs, and lost productivity since 1999, little was known about how social media users engaged with opioid-related content—particularly stigma, blame attribution, and policy opinions.
As the epidemic continues to devastate U.S. communities—with 80,000 overdose deaths from 2022–2023, alone—it’s essential to understand opioid-related content on social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram. These platforms are vital channels of information about opioid use and recovery that significantly influence public discourse and shape perceptions and responses to the crisis. Partisan differences further complicate this discourse, as social media can amplify divisions and hinder consensus on effective policies.
Solution
NORC employed a public insights tool and statistical analysis.
NORC used CrowdTangle, a now-defunct public insights tool by Meta, to analyze the most-engaging opioid-related posts on Facebook and Instagram, to assess how social media platforms shape and set the opioid epidemic’s complex narratives and to provide insight into public perceptions and potential pathways for evidence-informed responses.
We developed a comprehensive set of 68 keyword rules to capture publicly available English-language content over a 12-month period from July 2022 to June 2023. We concentrated on the top 0.5 percent of the most-engaging posts according to metrics, to analyze the most impactful content reaching broad audiences. Our coding framework categorized content into themes, personal narratives, blame attribution, and account types, while also considering political positioning. Three trained coders conducted a rigorous analysis to ensure high interrater reliability. Using statistical analysis tools, we identified prevalent themes and patterns.
Result
Social media posts focused on criminal justed and failed to mention treatment or harm-reduction.
NORC found that nearly half of the 2,121 relevant opioid-related posts (from a dataset of 474,747) centered on law enforcement narratives and highlighted a criminal justice perspective. Fentanyl emerged as the most frequently mentioned opioid. Blame for the epidemic was predominantly directed at illicit drug providers, with right-leaning accounts exhibiting higher instances of sensationalist language. Importantly, discussions of treatment solutions and harm-reduction strategies were largely absent. The underlying risk of such framing is that it could convince the public that punitive measures are the only viable response to the epidemic.
These findings underscore the urgent need for public health entities to reclaim the narrative surrounding the opioid crisis. By actively engaging in social media discourse, and promoting evidence-based messaging, they can foster a more nuanced understanding of the crisis and advocate for comprehensive, informed policy solutions.
Contact Information
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Project Leads
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Bruce Taylor
Senior FellowPrimary Investigator -
Phoebe Lamuda
Senior Research DirectorProject Director -
Sherry Emery
DirectorSenior Advisor -
Alex Kresovich
Research ScientistResearch Lead
“Social media shapes how Americans understand the opioid crisis, and right now that narrative is overwhelmingly focused on law enforcement rather than public health solutions. Our findings show we’re missing crucial opportunities to promote evidence-based treatments and harm reduction approaches in these high-reach spaces.”
