Rhetorical Circulation and Iconographic Life in TikTok Survivor Narratives: A Case Study From Nepal

This study examines TikTok as a rhetorical ecology that shapes survivor narratives. Using 100 representative comments collected from 10 TikTok accounts in response to a TikTok post by Susmita Regmi in Nepal, this study analyzes how comment ecology itself acts as a rhetorical force, not merely a repository of reactions. Through an ecological-iconographic approach combining Jenny Edbauer’s (2005) rhetorical ecologies and Laurie Gries’s (2013) iconographic tracking, this study reveals that comment sections are not passive but rather active-affective networks where feelings of solidarity, witnessing, and justice demands build upon each other, making a living mechanism. The paper argues that survivor narratives are, in fact, digital icons that gain rhetorical power through circulation, which can translate into political demand and legal reforms. This research contributes to the fields of South Asian digital activism, feminist rhetorics, and ecological rhetorical studies.