Coronavirus. Media Emergency and Fake News: stop with the senseless sensationalism that could cause, during our future recovery, a pessimistic, alienated and defeatist psychological condition, both individual and collective
When it comes to communication, there should be greater balance between the scientific aspect of the news and the level of sensationalism attributed to them.
Covid-19 is not a just a simple flu, but it is not Ebola, either.
It is certainly creating tensions and pressure, which is also due to the lack of facilities available to face a health emergency of this magnitude.
Every day, however, our TVs and newspapers talk about this virus in a non-professional way, contributing to an increase, instead of a reduction, in the collective tension, not to mention the many deleterious fake news that proliferate on social media.
As a publisher, I understand that every piece of news can attract people’s attention, and consequently the sponsors’, and so on.
But this cannot hold true in such a dramatic situation.
Reporting, at any time throughout the day, the number of deaths, of infections, with sensational announcements and headlines, will only contribute to create a psychological and social disruption.
This senseless sensationalism is becoming a virus, in addition to Coronavirus, and is creating a strong negative impact on people’s brains which, in the long run, could prove to be a real boomerang for the media.
There are many other diseases and social issues that cause many more deaths, but these are not reported, by the hour, as is the case for Covid-19.
I am aware that, for a thousand reasons, it is not easy to give things the right importance and to decide how news should be communicated.
I am convinced, however, that an excessive amount of exposure, an obsession with communication, a sort of overdose, will only add fuel to the panic, both individual and collective, which won’t be easy to eradicate when we’ll be required to bounce back.
Starting with the economy, which could be severely affected – as many other sectors – and which will require, in the aftermath, a strong willpower, determination and optimism, instead of a pessimistic, alienated and defeatist psychological condition, both individual and collective.
Luigi Lauro
