Algorithmic Doors to Community and the Trap of Visibility: TikTok for Harm Reduction Activism in the U.S. Overdose Crisis.

This article examines how individuals engaged in harm reduction activism use TikTok to promote naloxone—a medication that reverses opioid overdoses—and build supportive online communities amid the ongoing opioid overdose crisis in the United States. Drawing on interviews with 13 TikTok users who posted with the hashtags #naloxonesaveslives or #Narcansaveslives, the study explores how participants leverage TikTok's features (e.g., hashtags, duets, stitches, and algorithmic content delivery) as "doors" to foster education, solidarity, and misinformation correction about drug use and harm reduction. However, the research also highlights "traps" of visibility on TikTok, including stigma, harassment, burnout, mental distress, and digital silencing through content flagging or shadow banning, which complicate activists' efforts. The findings underscore the platform's dual role as a space for harm reduction community-building and a site of structural and social challenges, with implications for supporting digital harm reduction activism and addressing barriers to naloxone access.