The paper titled "The Socio-digital Manifestations of Subtitling COVID-19-related Clips on Social Media Platforms in Saudi Arabia: The Case of Social Media (Fan)subtitling on Twitter" by Bandar Altalidi focuses on the subtitling practices of COVID-19-related clips on social media in Saudi Arabia, particularly examining the role of social media (fan)subtitling on Twitter during the pandemic.
The study aims to explore how social media users in Saudi Arabia engaged in crisis translation through subtitling COVID-19-related videos, and how these clips were distributed and received by the public. The research specifically investigates the subtitling activities of the Saudi Ministry of Health (MoH) and 17 selected fansubbers during the year 2020.
The methodology employed includes the analysis of 175 subtitled clips by fansubbers and 255 clips by the MoH, collected from Twitter between January and December 2020. The study uses a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data to understand the socio-digital dynamics of subtitling during the pandemic.
Key findings reveal that social media significantly increased the visibility of COVID-19-related clips with subtitles, which were crucial in spreading accurate information quickly. The study also highlights the competition among fansubbers to gain social media capital, leading to the rise of social media fansubbing as a form of non-professional translation.
The conclusions emphasize the importance of subtitling in crisis communication, particularly in a multilingual society like Saudi Arabia. The research suggests that the MoH's limited use of subtitling left a gap that was filled by fansubbers, who played a vital role in disseminating information. The study underscores the need for integrating audio-visual translation more effectively in future crisis management strategies.