The Economy of Suffering: Ethical Dimensions of Digital Public Health Communication During the 2022 Mpox Crisis

This study examines the ethical dimensions of health communication during the 2022 mpox outbreak, focusing on the interplay between social media and public health officials in shaping stakeholder responses. Based on semi-structured interviews, findings reveal that social media played a crucial role in information dissemination for months during the crisis, while public health officials were slow to offer clear guidance. While social media empowers advocacy and the sharing of personal stories, it also raises ethical concerns, particularly regarding how vulnerable communities may become entangled in an economy of suffering, where their experiences of pain are validated and interpreted by stakeholders through a selective mechanism rooted in cultural codes and power dynamics. Moreover, systemic inequities render the suffering of marginalized groups, particularly those with intersecting identities, less visible and intensify the consequences of inadequate outreach. This creates a disparity where the suffering of those in more privileged positions is more readily recognized and addressed. The theoretical advancement lies in reconceptualizing the platformization of pain to include narrative resistance, highlighting that marginalized groups actively contest and reshape suffering narratives rather than passively experience them. This expanded framework also deepens the concept of an economy of suffering by integrating hermeneutical injustice, which emphasizes how power dynamics shape not only the visibility of suffering but also the interpretive frameworks that validate certain narratives while marginalizing others.