Visual Public Relations and User Fantasies on Facebook: The Case of an African Presidential Inauguration During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT Responding to calls for more visual rhetorical studies in public relations, in this research, we extend Symbolic Convergence Theory to analyze the photographs posted on Facebook by the President of Ghana, H. E. Nana Akufo-Addo, during the 2021 presidential inauguration and explore how users engaged with them. The study first explains why presidential inaugurations are important to public relations, then explores fantasy themes and their implications. We argue that the visual rhetoric employed by the Ghanaian President constructed national images reinforcing Ghana’s COVID-19 management status, the united branches of government, international support for and recognition of the President, and Ghana’s religious tolerance. We also posit that the visual rhetoric impacted the fantasy themes and discuss the implications of our findings.

摘要：为回应公共关系领域对更多视觉修辞研究的呼吁，在本研究中，我们扩展了象征趋同理论，以分析加纳总统纳纳·阿库福 - 阿多在2021年总统就职典礼期间在脸书上发布的照片，并探究用户如何与之互动。该研究首先解释了总统就职典礼为何对公共关系重要，然后探讨了幻想主题及其影响。我们认为，加纳总统所运用的视觉修辞构建了国家形象，强化了加纳的新冠疫情管理状况、政府各部门的团结、国际对总统的支持与认可以及加纳的宗教宽容。我们还假定视觉修辞影响了幻想主题，并讨论了我们研究结果的影响。