A global pandemic puts the spotlight on journalists everywhere. We become the harbingers of good, bad and ugly as the world watches from behind their screens. Quickly after COVID-19 settled in the United States, I began to notice trends in what I was reading about the virus. Titles became alarms, paragraphs turned into death sentences and the comments underneath seemed to fear an imminent apocalypse.
COVID-19 is a serious matter that requires serious attention. However, media coverage should spend more time on the unbiased truth than the alarmist possibilities. Right on quo with a consumerist society, media outlets are capitalizing on a global pandemic by creating an alarmist tone. How are they doing this? By exploiting the public’s lack of knowledge.
If an article is about to drop a statistic, they normally lead with, “The ‘_____’ database reports…” If the fill-in-the-blank isn’t completed by “CDC” or “WHO,” the statistic is not accurate. The reader is often not informed if this is a predicted statistic, a testing statistic or any other form. These numbers are often biased so that the article can make a point — whether that is to raise alarm or quell anxiety.
Another catchphrase to watch out for is, “It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before.” This comes from feature-length interviews with COVID-19 survivors who describe their experience in the throws of the virus. Though this sounds serious, it is actually a completely normal and survivable experience. The majority of the population has never experienced influenza, or “the flu,” and therefore have never experienced those symptoms before. However, because the same majority of the population does not understand the difference between the common cold and the flu, this is news to them. The media counts on the uneducated citizen to feel alarmed by this headline and to then share the article, causing viewership of the article to rise.
As I have mentioned before, projected statistics are a form of statistics that estimate COVID-19 patients beyond those who have been tested. These are also fantastic ways to up-play or downplay the threat of the virus. These statistics can seem trustworthy, as they are often preceded by “Scientists and experts say…” What they don’t tell you is what the parameter for the projection is. Did they factor in social distancing efforts? If it is a projection for the future, did they factor in a vaccine? Depending on the parameters used, projections can differ by the hundreds of thousands in predicted COVID-19 cases.
Okay, so you may be thinking this is looking pretty bleak. Who can you trust in the age of unchecked news media? For starters, always fact-check what you read with the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) websites. Both databases update daily and report from COVID-19 testing sites around the globe. When reading a news article, it’s also important to look beyond the numbers. Lines like “everyone is at risk” or “the deadly virus” are trying to convey messages of fear and urge panic in readers.
The most important takeaway is to stick to what you know. It might be beneficial to minimize your exposure to the COVID-19 news flow if it seems overwhelming or never-ending. Fact and opinion have always been mixed in the news, and during a global pandemic where no one knows the whole truth, it is harder than ever to tell them apart. The only thing we can control is ourselves and the way that we choose to conduct ourselves during this time. Stay home and stay informed; the light at the end of the tunnel is coming.
Caroline Helms is a first-year student majoring in English and minoring in political science. CH923631@wcupa.edu