Misinformation and the COVID-10 Pandemic

Sarah Maletta
Digital & Media Lit COM 250
6 min readApr 26, 2024

research question:

How did right-wing news sources like Fox News influence public perception and trust in media through the circulation of misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what are the implications for media trustworthiness and democratic participation?

Venn Diagram:

Reflection:

In creating LEAP 3, I found that finding a topic related to the media and democracy was easy for me. I immediately decided that I wanted to investigate the circulation of misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic by right-wing conservative media. I started to explore the questions “How do people get the news?” and “How do people decide who and what to trust?” , which were good starting points as I began my research. I began with finding sources that discussed the proliferation of misinformation during the pandemic, and how much of it was created by conservatives, then perpetuated through conservative media outlets. I found two polls, one displaying the nation’s overall distrust in FOX News, and another showing the nation’s distrust of the media as a whole. I felt that these would be important sources to include. After finding all of my sources, I began writing a speech that discusses the misinformation that the conservative media circulated during the pandemic, and how that greatly influenced the public perception of the pandemic. I discussed how many Americans began to distrust the media and the information being given to them, which led to public scrutiny of the preventative measures being recommended by the CDC and other news organizations. I discussed how this misinformation ended up spiraling, and creating massive divisions between American citizens. I thought it was important to add that these divisions within our society were the strongest during a time when we most needed to come together for the safety and health of our most vulnerable populations.

I found that creating a PowerPoint presentation was a good format for my video, as it allowed me to display my research question at the beginning, and then include photos from the many protests that occurred during the pandemic regarding distrust in the media. I was also able to display the poll that showed the deterioration of public trust in the media, which I think was an important visual aid to my video.

The thing I found the hardest about this project was definitely figuring out how I was going to do a Venn diagram. I was confused about what was expected for that, and Professor Hobbs said that she would not provide examples, so I read the assignment thoroughly and did my best to create a graphic design that seemed to fit what was asked. I chose to compare the AP to FOX News, as I have always felt the AP was regarded as the most unbiased source of news, and obviously FOX News has a very different reputation. I found that while they differ so greatly in the way they operate their organizations and the type of news that they produce, that I could still find some similarities between the two sources. I found that they both cover a variety of news topics, and that they are both held in high esteem by their loyal viewers.

Overall, I found that this was the most difficult of the three LEAP projects to complete, mostly because of the Venn diagram. I found that the questions “How do people get the news?” and “How do people decide who and what to trust” were helpful in beginning my research and finding my sources. I found that once I had finished with creating my video, my graphic design, had listed my sources, and had perfected my research question, I felt like I was proud of the work I created, and that it had been worth the occasional confusion.

Bibliography

Statista. (2023, May 8). Trustworthiness of Fox News in the U.S. 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/742244/trust-fox-news/

I selected this source as it shows the results of an important poll regarding recent public trust in Fox News. I think this is important as it is a major news network and is the sole news source of many Americans.

Blake, A. (2023, April 17). Fox News claims to be the ‘most trusted.’ Is it? The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/17/fox-news-most-trusted-ad-poll/

I found that this article helps with further examining my research question, as it examines further misinformation perpetuated by Fox News, and ironically, their statement of how they are the “most trusted”.

Fischer, S. (2023, October 24). Americans’ trust in media plummets to historic low: poll. Axios Media. https://www.axios.com/2023/10/24/americans-trust-in-media-plummets-to-historic-low-poll

I think this poll was important to include as it shows how low public trust in the media as a whole has dropped significantly. I think this points to a massive issue with public trust in news and relates to my research question- how can this be fixed?

Bauer, A. J., Nadler, A., & Nelson, J. L. (2022). What is Fox News? Partisan Journalism, Misinformation, and the Problem of Classification. Electronic News, 16(1), 18–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/19312431211060426

I felt that this research paper did a very thorough look into what Fox News stands for and the type of misinformation they tend to perpetuate to their many viewers. Provides important background information about the rightwing conservative media.

Misinformation in action: Fake news exposure is linked to lower trust in media, higher trust in government when your side is in power. (2023, July 10). Misinformation Review. https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/misinformation-in-action-fake-news-exposure-is-linked-to-lower-trust-in-media-higher-trust-in-government-when-your-side-is-in-power/

I think this article is critical in analyzing my research question as it looks for a link between the proliferation of misinformation in the media and how it affects trust in the government.

Media trust and infection mitigating behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA. (2020, October 1). BMJ Global Health. https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/10/e003323

I felt as though it was important to include a source regarding media during the COVID-19 pandemic and the misinformation that circulated globally. I think this moment in time could be related to the current historic-low trust in media from the public.

Nast, C. (2023, January 30). When Americans lost faith in the news. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/06/when-americans-lost-faith-in-the-news

This New Yorker article further examines public trust in the media, and dissects when that trust began to deteriorate. They link this lack of trust stems from President Trump and the rightwing conservative media.

Jones, D. A. (2004). Why Americans Don’t Trust the Media: A Preliminary Analysis. Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 9(2), 60–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/1081180X04263461

This piece explores the nation’s distrust in the media and how that trust was altered by misinformation perpetuated by the media at times when accurate, factual information was most needed. I felt that this was an important source to examine while researching public trust in the media and how it’s been affected by the circulation of misinformation.

Yang, Y., & Bennett, L. (2021). Interactive propaganda: how Fox news and Donald Trump co-produced false narratives about the COVID-19 crisis. In Political communication in the time of coronavirus (pp. 83–100). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003170051-8/interactive-propaganda-yunkang-yang-lance-bennett

I chose this book as it breaks down the misinformation that stemmed from Trump and the rightwing media throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It takes readers through the timeline of misinformation, where it came from, and its direct results.

Zaryan, S. (2017). Truth and Trust: How audiences are making sense of Fake News. https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8906886/file/8917210.pdf

I think this research paper does an extremely thorough and in-depth dive into “fake news” and what it means to the public and how it relates to the way they are consuming media. They look into how public trust in the news has been dwindling and has reached record-lows in recent years.

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