Okuzeka
Journalism & Media vocabulary · Online and Digital Media

Go viral

Meaning in journalism & media, with examples

phraseCore term

In journalism & media, go viral means: To spread very quickly and widely on the internet as people share it again and again, usually on social media and messaging apps.

In Turkish: viral olmak, hızla yayılmak, sosyal medyada patlamak

How it is used

Used about videos, posts, photos and claims. News stories often begin with a video that went viral. Something viral is not automatically true, so reporters verify viral content before using it.

Example sentences

  1. The video of the firefighter rescuing a cat went viral overnight.

  2. Before you write about a post that has gone viral, find out who posted it first.

Common collocations

  • go viral
  • viral video
  • viral post
  • viral claim
  • user-generated contentPhotos, videos, posts and other material created by members of the public rather than by journalists, which news outlets may verify and use.
  • misinformationFalse or misleading information that is spread without the intention to deceive, often by people who believe it is true.
  • verifyTo check carefully that information, a photo, a video or a source is real and true before you use or publish it.
  • clickbaitOnline headlines or content designed mainly to make people click, often by exaggerating, hiding the key fact or promising more than the story gives.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Online and Digital Media

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