Laughing in a crisis situation

Returning to the early days of news about Covid-19 in Cameroon, this article looks at its treatment on social media. Based on regular monitoring of the WhatsApp and Facebook forums, it highlights a surge of humorous publications on the pandemic that coincided with the outbreak of the disease in the country. Taking these publications seriously, the article shows, through a thematic review, that they are popular interpretive frameworks reflecting both a break in ordinary social relations and a set of routines relating to the social, cultural, political and economic environment in which the pandemic occurred.