Theme: Epidemiology & Public Health Research Year: 2024
Background: Stigmatizing language and imagery related to drug use are pervasive in society and amplify clinical and social harms experienced by people who use drugs (PWUD). Xylazine, colloquially referred to as “zombie drug” by mainstream news media, is a veterinary procedural sedative that has been increasingly adulterating the illicit opioid supply in the U.S. and was deemed an emerging threat by the Office of National Drug Control Policy in April 2023. If media sensationalizes emerging drug threats, there is a potential to perpetuate societal drug-related stigma and divert attention away from addressing this ongoing public health crisis.
Methods: We used Google News to compile and quantify stigmatizing U.S. media reporting on xylazine published between October 1, 2022-September 30, 2023. Articles were considered stigmatizing if they used the term “zombie” or included stigmatizing images (e.g., used paraphernalia, visibly intoxicated individuals, unhoused persons, or necrotic wounds).
Results: In a 12-month period, 910 news articles had relevant mentions of xylazine with the volume of xylazine mentions peaking in July 2023. While mentions of xylazine in the media increased around times of federal agency alerts about xylazine adulteration, 24% of all articles mentioning xylazine were categorized as stigmatizing. Nearly 75% of the stigmatizing articles mentioned the terms “zombie” or “zombie drug.” Of the 601 articles with embedded images, 15% had stigmatizing imagery, most often an image of used paraphernalia or an intoxicated individual.
Conclusion: Stigmatizing language and imagery related to people suffering harms related to xylazine adulteration proliferate in U.S. news media articles. Collaborative efforts between government agencies, the media, and the medical sector are needed to proactively challenge these narratives to avoid further dehumanizing PWUD among the public.
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