Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has
been a significant event that has shaped the global landscape in unprecedented
ways, and the role of the media in shaping public perception and understanding
of the crisis cannot be overstated. The highly interconnected nature of the
modern world brings with it unique challenges, sometimes in the form of
large-scale casualties that are unavoidable. Security concerns are no longer
confined to armed forces alone, but encompass a broad range of issues, with
health security being one among many. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has gripped
the world since the beginning of 2020, remains the most significant threat to
international security even after a year of fighting against this invisible
adversary.
Vaccine has been the most
important weapon against any diseases followed by communication. Unlike other outbreaks
seen in the past Spanish flu the new pandemics like Ebola or the recent
Coronavirus were accompanied by a supplementary challenge of Infodemic (An
epidemic of Information). Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Director General of World
Health Organisation gave a statement saying, “We’re not just fighting an
epidemic; we’re fighting an Infodemic which spreads faster and more easily than
this virus”. The dissemination of this is in the hands of Media
Houses, both electronic and print accompanied by social media which is the
largest source of information and disinformation.
A study by Reddit and
Wikipedia on the Covid-19 pandemic showed that people are highly reactive to
the news they are exposed to, in the beginning of an outbreak, the quality and
type of information provided might have critical effects on risk perception,
behaviours, and ultimately on the unfolding of the disease. [1]. April 2020, research by Harvard
observed that a number of March 2020 polls showed that Republicans were less
worried than were Democrats about exposure to the virus, less likely to
consider the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak a major health threat [2]. All the choices and bifurcation were
based on their preference of Media Consumption which in turns was based on
their political inclination. This brings us to another point of media biases,
which is selective in the information they deliver to the audience or twisting
the words to make it appear either pro-government or antigovernmental.
Nevertheless, both the scenarios are capable of creating inevitable damage to
the already existing Covid Situation. Covid Coverage by Indian National
Media:
There is a certain pattern that is
followed by the left media houses which is very critical of the current
government in India and then comes the pro-government which are all praises to
the current establishment. The predominant anti-government electronic medias
are NDTV, the wire, BBC India and for pro-government we have Republic TV,
Zee news, Times Now. This polarity within the landscape of Journalism in
India was not visible before 2010 but political dynamics have changed since and
have created information warfare especially during the time of Pandemic.
Coverage of number of deaths was very different for both the sides. For the
second wave coverage itself in the last two months the pro establishment media
stuck to the official number provided by the government which would remain
around 2,19,272 cases of infection and 2812 deaths (26 April 2021) [3].
While the right-hand media houses like Times Now [4] who
use English as the medium of coverage did question the data provided by the
government. This isn’t a news that people tend to incline to news channel
according to their own political leaning, hence people who prefer English
language are mostly the educated class of the country, which is the reason, that
though right-wing Hindi National Electronic Media Houses are very explicit in
defending the government, the English counterpart continues to remain implicit.
If we talk about the anti-establishment media houses, starting from NDTV [5] it
was observed that they did use the analysis done by the international media
house like the Guardian and the data collected by the regional media house like
Sandesh newspaper based in Gujarat to question the government on the official
data it provided and the basis on which they were recorded. During the second
wave the Sandesh newspaper reported 200 deaths on 16th April
2021, in and around city of Ahmedabad but the government report only showed 25
deaths. This same report was also used by BBC while covering Indian Covid
Crises [6].
The Wire which is part of Foundation of Independent Journalism and has its
audience base on YouTube for its audio-video coverages, took up the technique
of interviewing the experts which would help predict the Covid Fatality Graphs
instead of having Politician on board to defend themselves and their stand.
They had interviews with epidemiologist, Mathematician to challenge the data
provided by the government [7].
Same panel was also seen other Left wing media houses too like scroll, quint,
NDTY etc. 
Next major issue during the second wave
of Covid Crises was the shortage of vaccine and oxygen cylinder. In March 2021,
Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan declared that country was heading to the
“end game’ of Covid-19 Pandemic yet Right next month surge in Cases were
reported. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad’s Professor Chinmay Tumbe
stated that failure to prevent second wave was due to failure of government to
keep track of different strains of variant. Journalism is mainly responsible
for highlighting issues that are otherwise left unchecked. Real time
surveillance and reporting are the responsibilities of the media. When the
surge came down in February with average of 11000 cases per day and deaths per
day had slide down to below 100 the Covid was also out of media coverage for a
while if not entirely. At the same time the beginning of the year
saw Kisan Andolan which was where both the pro and anti -government media
houses were primarily focused.
Only major news related to Covid was Vaccine
Diplomacy when India decided to support other countries by exporting Vaccines
made by the Serum Institute. Though the cases were less and out of the central concern
of media, it doesn’t imply that the Pandemic was over. This was where both the
sides unfortunately created a communication gap. In the past whenever the world
was gripped by the pandemic it had faced at least three waves which is one the
lesson that both the sides should have learned and should have continued to
look at the strategy that government should work on in terms of setting up
hospitals and oxygen plants. Though it was difficult to understand the
intensity of second wave few things were established during the first wave that
was the need of oxygen as the virus mainly attacked lungs and basic medical
supplies like Remdesivir injection and a fast-paced immunisation program. It was
During the time of Farmers Protest followed by Election from March to May in
five states that major under reporting took place. This shift in focus from the
health to political arena took away the pressure from the government to setup
accurate health system in the given span of time between the first wave and the
second wave. This under reporting is also responsible for creating a
wrong impression in the mind of people who still needed to take precaution, but
visuals of Gathering in Rallies were like free pass for all to move around
without precautions. Two important points to remember here are that firstly,
covering the Farmer’s Protest through the pandemic angle would have had
portrayed the protest in negative light which is the reason why the
anti-government media houses avoided extensively talking about covid concern during
this time. Secondly, During the election it was pro government who avoided
questioning the political leaders for not wearing the mask and massive
gathering.
Coverage of two
major religious gathering during Covid
Tablighi Jamaat
The Indian media portrayed the "Markaz
event" organized by the Tablighi Jamaat as a COVID-19 hotspot,
particularly among right-wing outlets. It was reported that information about
COVID-19 was presented in a communal manner on social media and television
channels, with the Muslim community being demonized. The Hindustan Times
editorial argued that while the Tablighi Jamaat leadership should be held
accountable for violating social distancing rules, blaming the entire Muslim
community for the episode must be avoided. Additionally, fake videos were used
as sources by right-wing media houses to spread hatred. The government's
handling of the Markaz issue was apparent but not adequately covered in the
mainstream media, particularly regarding the inability of both the Delhi and
central governments [8].
The Kumbh Mela
Regarding the Kumbh Mela, the left-wing criticized
the government for organizing the gathering, which also benefited the
government as it focused on news that was anti-establishment. Conversely, the
right-wing criticized the opposition for their statements on the religious
rituals of the Kumbh rather than questioning the permission granted for such a
mass gathering. It is important to note that both the Tablighi Jamaat and Kumbh
Mela gatherings were problematic. The Tablighi Jamaat event could have been
used by both sides to analyze other major gatherings that may occur in the
future and how the government can prevent them. The extensive ground reporting
before the start of the Kumbh Mela was a significant source of information for
the Hindu pilgrims. If the media had highlighted the repercussions of such a
mass gathering during the COVID-19 crisis, it could have influenced the choices
made by the pilgrims.
Conclusion
Pandemic was one instance in which the left and right might have taken a
neutral stance, but political prejudices prevented this from happening. During
the epidemic, anti-government media outlets were able to more effectively
challenge the government, and pro-government media outlets were able to
question other parties on the ground. The main setback was the resulting
community gap. If any of the communities had reacted violently, it would have
made it difficult to manage the epidemic in the densely populated country.
Indian media must learn to portray and use facts in their reporting rather than
pushing individual journalists' opinions.
[1] Nicol`o Gozzi,
Michele Tizzani, Michele Starnini, Fabio Ciulla, Daniela Paolotti, Andr´e
Panisson and Nicola Perra,
CollectiveresponsetothemediacoverageofCOVID-19PandemiconRedditandWikipedia,
Networks and Urban Systems Centre, University of Greenwich, London, UK, June
12, 2020.
[2] The Relation
between Media Consumption and Misinformation at the Outset of the SARS-CoV-2
Pandemic in the US, The Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review 1, The
Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review1, April 2020, Volume 1,
Issue 2 April 2020, Volume 1, Issue 2
[3]Zee News, important
news on coronavirus , https://youtu.be/CePMNxt_BCw, DNA, 26
April 2021
[4] Times Now,
Frankly speaking with Union Minister, https://youtu.be/kbqRRvq8Z8U, 18
April 2021
Times Now, did Delhi Government create oxygen panic, https://youtu.be/kUYhSVhVHWk, 25
June 2021
Republic tv, Time for India to unite and not settle political
score, https://youtu.be/b4FhTP9KJaU, 24
April,2021
[5] NDTV, Are
Government Covid data accurate, https://youtu.be/Jr14SC3aoHI, Prime
Time, 26 May 2021
NDTV, Centre Trashes New York Times report on Covid, Prime
Time, https://youtu.be/Jr14SC3aoHI, 27
May 2021
[6] India’s Covid Crises
[7] The Wire, Karan
Thapar for Wire, 19- April 2020
[8] Parth Sharma, Abhijit Anand,
Indian media coverage of Nizamuddin Markaz event during COVID-19 pandemic, APP
Wiley, 3 November 2020
Comments
Post a Comment