Media Tactics During COVID

JULY 2021

Journalists are not the enemy – media houses are !

In normal times, media plays its mind games. Rather, it will not be wrong to state that there is a specific tactic, media uses for every event, making the headlines. COVID-19 is a special event, which has already lasted for more than any other story, after the great wars. 

This article aims to specifically highlight the role of media, across the world, during the COVID pandemic. It is inspired by Noam Chomsky’s list of 10 media manipulation strategies.

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COVID SITUATION & MEDIA – PART I

The strategy of distraction

Why?

The media has been debating non-issues during prime-time hours. While the cases were rising, most of the participants were partisan, just defending their positions. 

Some countries were opposed to closing their borders and imposing lockdown – while others responded promptly. Generally, the media did highlight these situations. 

However, they didn’t tell the audience how the infections are getting into their country in their narratives. They did not scrutinise enough the reasons for contagion. 

For example, it is still not highlighted widely how the virus from Wuhan, China found its way to a sleepy district of Lombardy, Italy. Whether the virus originated from the vet market or accidentally leaked from the lab, it is no longer a front-page point of inquiry.

• Many Reasons of Vaccine Hesitancy

• Is Vaccine Hesitancy Justified? 

• Did Western Medical Science Fail?  

Only if the media brought the correct facts, early on, before the world, other countries would have learnt and taken necessary measures. 

The contagion would have been curbed effectively. Just because the media outlets from Italy were not reporting the causes of contagion, all governments in Europe were only playing a guessing game, reacting to the situation after it was too late.

One can understand that China has media restrictions; therefore, it was difficult for a journalist to report the ground realities directly. Still, there was a bulk of unverified social media footage available, good enough to generate intelligence.

• Media Tactics During COVID - Part 2 

 So how come the media didn’t receive any update from the respective consulates in China? Compared to China as a problematic case, Italy is a media-friendly and open country. Therefore, it was much easier to get to the root of the contagion immediately. But the media didn’t.

Finally, much later, when the pandemic’s damage has been done, we learned the reason for contagion in Italy. Only after some investigative journalist, not the mainstream media, made a full feature that facts come to light.

It was the illegal garment factories in the district, allegedly run by Chinese labourers. They didn’t have access to medical care and proper housing, which made uncontrolled contagion accelerate through the district initially, then the country and finally engulfed the European continent.

https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/exclusive-is-there-a-connection-between-luxury-fashion-brands-dirty-secret-and-italys-coronavirus-crisis/

Across the Atlantic, the American borders were open and only waiting for the WHO to declare a pandemic. The media wasn’t showing the situation in China and how the city of Wuhan was in strict lockdown. 

Even if unverified video footage of the situation in China were used to prepare the public across the world, the situation would have been different. It was not until each country got those many numbers, which created panic, that the media and the government took action.

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After a couple of months later, there is no point in showing a documentary, how the situation unfolded. It would be merely an academic exercise, inconsequential to resolving the current crisis.

Today, all governments are contemplating the reopening of economies. Wearing masks in the United States is no more mandatory. But, the advisory changes like a flash. 

The United Kingdom has already celebrated Freedom Day on the 19th of July. There are no restrictions, and people are not legally obligated to wear masks. 

India, though unofficially open for business, has huge crowds flooding the market and tourist places. There is no news from China about the contagion as if Wuhan was just a blip in 2020.

What is the media’s role then?

The media has a role here to intensely highlight the conclusive findings of scientists and medical journals. 

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It should also be questioning the scientific conclusion and the actions of the governments.

In principle, it should be getting into the root cause of the problem and keep the public intensely informed. Instead, they are majorly reporting on softer issues like – how people have enjoyed their time in time during the lockdown.

 The headlines were also about how the public spent their post lockdown time on the beaches, nightclubs and shopping malls.

Media across the world have reported the relevant information like total number of daily cases, daily deaths, number of first doses and second doses etc., for their country. 

But none of the media is reporting the number of adverse side effects from vaccination. It is a crucial piece of information, and the public has a right to know in layman’s language.

 Many countries are not even recording adverse side effects, and even this information is not known to the public.

The effect of such media coverage will neither deter the governments from taking rash decisions nor stop the public from making wrong choices. Openness and transparency are the only casualties here, after millions of precious lives lost.

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The media is reporting vaccine hesitancy, prevailing across the world. However, very few are exploring the reasons for hesitancy and journalistically covering the efforts to overcome it. 

There are different reasons in different countries, communities, races, and religions for not getting vaccinated. They range from science to beliefs, conspiracy to contentions. 

Instead of reporting the causes of hesitancy, helping an open debate about the issues, a bully tactic is used. A general term is applied to hesitancy, and those hesitant are clubbed to look like villains of society.

Why are people not questioning the media’s role?

Earlier in the days, where there were few traditional sources, the trust in reporters was supreme. Various media channels like print, radio and television were considered the bible of information. 

The innocent public could never believe that mind games can be played through these media outlets. 

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The cosy relationship, leading to conflict of interest between media houses, the government, and stakeholders’ interests were largely unknown.

The billions that created the media houses and their consequences on public information came to light very late in the game. Even today, during times of pandemic, the branded media houses are assumed to the imparting whole truth. It is not the case, though.

Over time, it was only ground-breaking freelance journalists who gave facts and behind the scenes reports that the public realised the discrepancies and motives of these national media (those with a broad audience).

 Unfortunately, digging into the facts and then highlighting them to the public is still a niche, and only a few in the industry are pursuing the goal of trustworthy journalism.

What has recently changed?

Of lately, the ground realities have been known to the public through multiple social media. Much of it is true, though unverified. Many videos footage comes directly from the amateurs at the location, which makes them authentic.

 Social media is now more credible than conventional media solely because NO filters are wickedly applied to the information intended for the public.

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The good news is that in recent times, the sources of our information have blurred. We might not even recall which social media or mainstream media brought a piece of the particular information. 

Generally, the public’s appetite for knowledge is fulfilled with this mix of mainstream and social media. Hence, the public is not too much worried because they know what they ought to know.

The bad news is that the public is still unable to catch these diversionary media tactics.

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