[Pregnancy termination on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok: a content and quality analysis]

Young people and adults increasingly obtain information about pregnancy termination (PT) through social media. Against this background, the aim of this study is to investigate, for the first time, the content and quality of German-language PT videos on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Research questions on provider types (research question 1: RQ1), content (RQ2), and quality of PT videos (RQ3) as well as audience reactions (RQ4) will be answered.

A sample of N = 500 popular PT videos was drawn from YouTube (150), Instagram (150), and TikTok (200). For each video, up to 20 of the most liked topic-related audience comments were included in the sample (N = 4761). The videos and comments were analyzed using reliability-tested codebooks. Data analysis was conducted with R. The study is preregistered, and all data, materials, and analysis scripts are publicly available.

The PT videos predominantly originated from media professionals (49%) and only rarely from healthcare professionals (6%; RQ1). In terms of content, the majority of the videos represented a pro-choice position (54%) and frequently addressed medical care as well as psychological and physical experience (RQ2). According to quality criteria for health information, clear deficits were identified, with YouTube videos performing best in comparison (RQ3). TikTok videos, by contrast, led in audience engagement, recording the highest numbers of views, likes, and comments. Viewers used comment sections to express political positions and share personal experiences (RQ4).

Future research as well as practice interventions are needed to further assess the quality of social media videos on pregnancy termination and improve it in a more targeted way.