The earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye on February 6, 2023, created massive physical and psychological effects, affecting both direct survivors and those who witnessed the event through media. In the digital age, social media platforms have transformed into spaces where individual suffering turns into collective narratives. However, the long-term role of these platforms in shaping digital witnessing practices and collective expressions of suffering.

This study aims to examine how the earthquake was collectively articulated and emotionally framed within a digital comment space and the phenomenon of digital witnessing by analyzing public responses to the YouTube video “Mevzular Açık Mikrofon-Deprem Özel (Open Microphone on Topics-Earthquake Special),” ⁎ which serves as a significant digital archive of the disaster.

Designed with a qualitative research method, this study analyzed a dataset of 3,808 comments selected from an initial pool of 19,638 posted between May 12, 2023, and March 17, 2024. The comments were categorized into “self-identified survivors” and “self-identified remote witnesses” and subjected to thematic analysis using MAXQDA software. The analysis focused on patterns of emotional expression, witnessing position, and temporal distribution of reactions.

The findings revealed that approximately 80 % of the interactions reflected expressions of distress related to the earthquake. Distress-related themes were thematized as challenging emotions (48.2 %), the trauma-related narratives (31.4 %), positive emotions (16.7 %), and disaster management effects (3.1 %). A significant distinction emerged between groups: while self-identified survivors primarily expressed thanks/appreciation, self-identified remote witnesses predominantly expressed sadness, shame, and guilt, reflecting narratives consistent with discussions of secondary exposure and survivor guilt in trauma literature.

In the study, it was concluded that digital platforms serve as vital repositories of collective memory but may also contribute to renewed distress through repeated exposure. The prevalence of guilt and shame among self-identified remote witnesses shows the importance of ethically sensitive media practices in contexts of collective suffering.