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The media promotes more fiction than fact about contemporary pandemics
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Selected thesis
The media promotes more fiction than fact about contemporary pandemics
Pros
Cons
Pro claim 1
The purpose of public media is to provide programs and services that inform, educate, enlighten and enrich the public. In a situation like Corona, very little 'facts' are known at the beginning of the process. Generally, the media will be informing audiences on happenings and events (claims), this is journalism. This could be seen as 'fiction' since there is no evidence that supports it, but neither denying it. It comes down to the ethics of journalism that could lead to spreading false info.
Pro claim 2, children below
Unreliable and false information is spreading around the world to such an extent, that some commentators are now referring to the new avalanche of misinformation that’s accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic as a ‘disinfodemic’.
news.un.org
Pro claim 3
Fake news and false information on COVID-19 can spread just as quickly as the virus itself. On March 16, the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project in collaboration with Microsoft Research began cataloging misinformation efforts around the pandemic.
drive.google.com
Pro claim 4, children below
In certain countries, media outlets are not separate from the government, thus the public receives a perspective which favours the governments handling of the pandemics, which could lead to a misleading idea of what is actually going on.
Pro claim 5, children below
Media allows a rapid and widespread medium from government mandated informational press releases can be spread effectively. This is important as it will always be the governing institutions who retain the most information and resource to contain an ongoing epidemic.
Pro claim 6
The media provides a platform for experts to distribute useful and potential imperative importation to masses of public. Though it also allows the latter, it will be the public's responsibility to asses the validity of information spread based on reputable credentials of authors.
Pro claim 7
Erroneous information can easily be portrayed by the media. The public can't validate the information provided or get to know if it actually is from a reliable source. For instance, during the Covid-19 situation; media in most of the countries show the number of death tolls more than the recoveries. Everyone seems to be more interested about negative news rather than the positives. Media takes this opportunity to 'clickbait' the public and scare them in order for the news to go viral.
Pro claim 8
It is evident that due to the virus being fairly new with little to no information beforehand, it is inevitable that there will be a level of fiction. However, in the state of a pandemic, many people rely on different types of media to get information and due to how serious this issue is, people are more likely to believe anything they see whether the information is true or not
Pro claim 9
False information seems to be a reoccurring problem with the recent pandemic. With China, the information about the amount of COVID-19 cases has been inconsistent and has made people question the validity of their statements. False information from China could be an attempt in keeping the country’s reputation high and allow for development of the country to continue.
youtube.com
Pro claim 10
North Korea claimed that there was not a single case of Covid-19 within the country. Given the reputation of the country, this claim implies that the country handled the current pandemic and to publicise their superiority (to people within the country and outside of the country)
bbc.com
Pro claim 11
A reoccurring problem in modern-day social media is the spread of misinformation. There are theories floating regarding the COVID 19 that the virus was engineered in a lab and is spread via 5G network. In addition, there have been thousands of listings on Amazon for fake COVID 19 cures that have been reported. Facemasks and sanitisers have increased significantly despite them not being fit to combat the virus.
www.bbc.com
Pro claim 12
Early in the COVID 19 outbreak, the virus was formerly known as the Wuhan Virus. The wording has a tendency to stigmatise individuals from the city and also those of a certain ethnicity.
www.id-hub.com
Pro claim 13
Media personalities such as televangelists in the US have used the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to exploit their viewers. Televangelist Jim Bakker sold a 'cure' in the form of a silver solution.
npr.org
Pro claim 14
Despite YouTube enabling procedures to combat disinformation regarding the Covid-19, conspiracy theory videos are still being viewed in the millions. This allows false information being spread on one of the most popular social media sites.
technologyreview.com
Con claim 1
This affects countries globally, as media from countries (such as China who is suspected of providing fictional information) may be used in order to prevent and cure. This creates an issue, as this now puts other countries at risk and therefore is only helping the spread of the pandemic.
Con claim 2, children below
The coronavirus health crisis highlights the particular strengths of social media and how it brings people across the globe together, to make sense of what is truly happening.
twitter.com
Con claim 3
The media is often tackling misinformation eg in India by denying fake news about NASA hearing sound waves from them clapping, or how the WHO debunked claims that gargling saltwater was an effective treatment
Con claim 4, children below
Companies which provide information have taken measures in order to prevent the spread of false information, meaning that facts are promoted to the public (i.e Facebook work with over 60 fact-checking organizations that review content in more than 50 languages.)
Con claim 5
Countries and media outlets may record their data differently, for instance some countries only report hospital deaths (UK) where as others also provide data from old folks homes (France or John Hopkins site). Therefore the media doesn't purposefully promote fiction and simply doesn't provide the full truth.
Con claim 6
Media that promotes more fiction than fact can be considered as fake news. However this depends on who and where the information is coming from as the truth can be defined in different ways. Other than official information that people collectively agree on, the fiction can be a truth depending on what the person believes in.
Con claim 7
Media is the main source from which we receive information. Many people might not have the opportunity to further investigate the details to find out if it is from a reliable source or not. Without looking into the source, we can't blame the media for promoting more fiction than facts. We can't call it 'fake news' because the fiction being portrayed by the media can be a truth which the majority believes in. Hence, the news with fiction can be followed through till we get to know further facts.
Con claim 8
the amount of false information that has been sent across the globe, affected most of the civilization in America and being manipulated by what they believed in.
Con claim 9, children below
Countries, such as the USA and the UK, are suspicious about the information coming out of China. This is due to the fact that China was able to control the outbreak and currently have fewer deaths. As the pandemic's first outbreak was in China, it seems complicated to control it so well. Although there are many suspicions, China has been releasing information daily at the same time, which raises trust in the country's information.
Con claim 10
More fact-checkers are being used in order to check for the validity of claims made about the virus. A post was shared on facebook which advised people in the Philippines to avoid spicy food and digest large amounts of Vitamin C to prevent getting the disease. This was quickly debunked by comparing what was said in the post to the information seen on the Department of Health’s website
bbc.com
Con claim 11
Trusted media don't ignore misinformation regarding the COVID 19, instead, they attempt to counter it. This can be done by thinking about who their audience might trust, bringing in experts, showing empathy with those affected, using appropriate language, and thoroughly and carefully explaining terminology. An example of this is the WHO myth buster section which addresses the misbeliefs of the COVID 19
www.who.int
Con claim 12
Facebook is upgrading its AI to combat false information on its platform. This is done through collaborations with fact-checking organisations and image analysing software.
techcrunch.com