First “Corresponders”: Three Reasons Why a Free Press is Crucial During a Public Health Crisis
USAID champions media partners on World Press Freedom Day
On Jan. 30, the COVID-19 outbreak became a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. By February, a parallel epidemic was diagnosed, one that exacerbates the pandemic: the “infodemic.”
What is this and why does it matter?
People the world over have been inundated with information related to COVID-19. Most of us are desperate for information that will keep us safe, keeping us glued to our TVs, radio, social media, and phones. Sometimes we tune into the latest, evidence-based updates; sometimes not. The trouble is, the infodemic can make it hard to tell the difference.
During a public health crisis, uncertainty and confusion provide a ripe environment for misinformation and disinformation to flourish, leaving communities vulnerable to rumors, conspiracy theories, and misguided medical advice. What is the best means to inoculate a population against the infodemic? A free press.
USAID recognizes the critical role that our media partners play in safeguarding the public interest at a time when we need that protection most.
News You Can Use
Around the world, authoritarian leaders are exploiting this crisis to crack down on journalists, invoking sweeping restrictions in the name of combating what they call “fake news.”
Meanwhile, in some areas, just reaching communities with crucial public health updates can be a challenge.
This is especially acute for remote communities or those who speak minority languages. USAID media programs help ensure that even the most vulnerable populations have access to reliable information.
In Georgia’s occupied territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, residents now have access to fact-based health information in the Abkhaz and Ossetian languages through livepress.ge and qartli.ge, two USAID partners. And in Bujanovac, a municipality in South Serbia with an ethnically mixed population, a primarily Serbian-language web portal has been translating all locally relevant information into Albanian, with support from USAID.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where community radio thrives, USAID teamed up with leading Congolese artists to produce the song “Toko Longa Corona” (“We will beat the Coronavirus”) in the DRC’s five main languages. Check out the video here. Even if you don’t speak these languages, its empowering message will shine through.
The Fourth Estate
Although most governments mobilize in good faith to respond to their populations’ needs, corrupt actors can seize upon the opportunity to profiteer amidst the confusion of a global pandemic.
The press can mitigate this threat as a watchdog, examining governments’ response to the crisis, and calling for accountability.
The USAID-supported Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project is on the frontlines of investigative reporting, with its “Crime, Corruption, and the Coronavirus” project.
The project has uncovered pandemic-related corruption around the world. In Italy, Italian government contracts went to business owners accused of misappropriating government funds in the past. The organization flagged potential collusion in Russia among suppliers of ventilators to keep prices artificially high. And in Kenya, it exposed how scammers are exploiting public fear and lack of medical supplies to take advantage of the crisis.
Without independent voices in the media, these types of shady deals could go unchecked — breeding corruption within public institutions and harming the public’s health.
Combating Disinformation
We are living in an era of increasing information pollution, and the spread of disinformation has intensified in the face of this pandemic.
In April, a European Union monitoring team analyzed over 8,000 pro-Kremlin disinformation cases, 20 percent of which focused on COVID-19. According to this analysis, China, too, has become a purveyor of disinformation, advancing conspiracy theories from fringe websites to create confusion about the coronavirus, including its origin.
When social media spreads disinformation, and responsible, independent media face economic hardship or repressive government control, citizens ultimately lose out.
That’s why USAID supports efforts like fact-checking, initiatives to debunk false and harmful disinformation, advance media literacy, and expand investigative journalism worldwide.
In Indonesia, a USAID media literacy program promotes responsible information consumption habits on https://literasimediasosial.id/ and viral social media content, including a public service campaign featuring social media influencers during the time of COVID-19. The PSA warns users to be wary of misleading and false messages, and practice key media literacy principles before sharing information online.
In Moldova, USAID-supported StopFals has been debunking conspiracy theories, including the false narrative that the virus was brought to Moldova from the West, and that the European Union and the United States have abandoned their allies at this difficult time.
USAID’s Initiative for Media Freedom in the Philippines produced a video series on the ‘info-demic’ around COVID-19, based on its fact-checking.
As with firefighters, paramedics, or other first responders, we have to invest in and protect members of a free press to make sure they can be there for the public when disaster strikes.
If access to independent local news is stifled, if the press can’t play its watchdog role, and if disinformation dominates, then in the next major crisis first “corresponders” on the information front may be gone.
USAID invests in the media not only because of the vital service it provides to our physical health, but to the health of democracy.
About the Authors
Shannon Maguire and Josh Machleder are Senior Media Advisors for USAID who work to promote independent media and internet freedom around the world. Follow their work at @USAIDEurope and @USAID/DRG.
