TWEETING THROUGH THE FLOODS: SOCIAL MEDIA NARRATIVES, SENTIMENTS, AND PUBLIC MOBILIZATION DURING PAKISTAN’S 2022 FLOODS

Abstract

The 2022 Pakistan floods caused unprecedented humanitarian and infrastructural devastation, affecting millions and drawing global attention. Social media platforms, particularly Twitter, emerged as critical tools for information dissemination, public engagement, and disaster response. This study investigates social media narratives, sentiments, and public mobilization during the floods, analyzing 150,000 tweets collected between July and September 2022. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines thematic narrative analysis, sentiment classification, and mobilization tracking, the study examines how users construct disaster narratives, express emotions, and coordinate relief efforts. Findings reveal that Twitter users predominantly highlighted humanitarian impacts, government accountability, and climate justice, with negative sentiments peaking during the disaster’s onset and positive sentiments emerging alongside volunteer and donation campaigns. Tweets combining blame narratives with actionable appeals achieved the highest engagement, illustrating the interplay between framing, emotional expression, and public mobilization. The study contributes to disaster communication scholarship by demonstrating the transformative role of social media in crisis response, climate advocacy, and public accountability. Recommendations are offered for leveraging digital platforms to enhance disaster preparedness and collective action.