The Role of the Press in the Covid-19 Pandemic

During health crises, news media plays an important role in keeping people updated. Whether it involves the number of hospitalizations, mask mandates or vaccines, news media can help spread important, need-to-know information.

For example, a recent Washington Post article shared updates on when covid-19 vaccines will be available for children under 5 years old. This would be the first pediatric covid-19 vaccine, and there are likely many parents who want to know what the timeline is until these vaccines are available. The article directly quotes Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which gives the article accuracy and authority.

However, the influence of the news media can also negatively impact health crises when misinformation is shared across media platforms. An article by the American Psychological Association (APA) described this issue as an “infodemic”.

“Misinformation surrounding COVID-19 has been so rampant that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a parallel “infodemic” to describe the scale of fake news and its potential impact on efforts to limit the virus’s spread,” the article said.

Misinformation from news sources can be shared directly through their own platforms or through news personalities. For example, the Cambridge University Press shared examples of news media spreading misinformation directly through their own channels.

“Fox Business anchor Trish Regan told viewers that the worry over coronavirus ‘is yet another attempt to impeach the president,’” the journal article said.

News personalities should also be wary of spreading misinformation on their personal social media. The article by the APA shared that one post on Medium countered the science of social distancing, promoting false information that distancing did nothing to help stop the spread of covid-19. The blog post went viral after several personalities from Fox News reposted it onto their personal social media accounts.

The World Economic Forum explained that this spread of misinformation undermines public health efforts. Someone who is already vaccine-hesitant might see a post spreading misinformation on the covid-19 vaccine, decide not to be vaccinated, and are then more susceptible to extreme illness and even death.

“People accept factually incorrect information as true if it originates from trusted sources or affirms their political and social worldviews,” the journal article from Cambridge University said.

In contrast, the fear mongering that often comes from left-winged news sources does not help the situation either. One article by the American Sociological Association explained that this type of sensationalism often leads to media burnout, among other issues.

“Perceiving media sensationalism and ‘fake news’ as ‘not good’ for their mental health, respondents reported experiencing media burnout and physical and emotional responses to media including crying, sleeplessness, and loss of motivation,” the article said.

News media have influence on peoples’ perception of important issues, including health crises. If they are a trusted source, people will buy into what they say as truth, especially if it supports their already established viewpoints. News media should therefore handle this influence with care, and should be aware of how their voice can affect health crises.