Fake News and the Implication on a Pandemic

 Dylan Westmeyer 

dw330019@ohio.ed 

News has always been essential for people who have been going through pandemics. People need reassurance and a sense of safety when situations get out of hand. Many journalists want to help these people get the correct information on fighting the pandemic or staying safe in one's own home. But, unfortunately, some people are more concerned about getting clicks than spreading the correct information in our day and age.

Photo Curtest of Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University

Fake news is scariest when no one truly knows what is true. Large corporations want to be the first ones to cover the big news, which can lead to them being tripped up by fake news and not getting the proper information out in the name of being first. That is extremely dangerous as uncertainty fuels people to do whatever they hear will help them. 

In the first few months of the pandemic, it was highly evident as people, the media, and the government was scrambling to keep their countries safe. People took advantage of this chaos, making videos or posting on social media about how to stay safe from the virus or ways to fight off the virus that later was found out not to do anything to help. These fake news stories spread like wildfires for a time until the public started making better decisions of what news to trust and what websites to trust media to trust during the pandemic. 

So what should people in the public look for in the future if another pandemic arises and they want to make sure they are not getting caught up in the fake news? 

The obvious answers are choosing credible news sources and even fact-checking across credible sources to see if possibly one source managed to pick up misinformation in hopes of being first. These are the apparent solutions though there are multiple subtle ways to see misinformation in media coverage.

These include doomsday narratives that don't allow for any coverage on recovery. It also brought in political views as to why to shut down the country of even state, taking what officials say but only using bits and pieces throughout their work and not the whole produce, not getting their news from the community that is being affected. Still, an official talks about the community and suggests a more comprehensive picture of people staying safe during the pandemic. 

Use these methods and others to stay safe during a pandemic because people will always want clicks on their stories and will sometimes do whatever it takes to get these clicks.