Misinformation in the Age of COVID-19
Political Mass Misinformation
The method politicians use to spread their ideas can affect how their supporters relay and interpret this information. Our society faces an ongoing issue regarding the fact that there is a mass spread of misinformation. In today’s society, there are so many platforms on the internet that people rely on to receive information and spread it, such as YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, etc. The severity of these issues comes into play when the spread of information is taken advantage of by people who have authoritative power, and thus we must question whether these political or cultural figures are mature enough to use their platforms responsibly. Many people make the mistake of idolizing politicians, and because of this, they must be responsible with their platforms.
The Influence of Political Parties
A study conducted by two students at Northeastern University — Peter Ramjug and Eunice Esomonu — analyzed which of the two political parties are more likely to spread false information. This study opens the argument on the influence that the polarization created by the two party system has on the way individuals interpret information. Political parties have managed to create disunion within society and their ideologies constantly clash against one another. Based on the data presented by the study, the Democratic party has more consistently shared factual information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, members of the Republican party have more outwardly spread false information regarding COVID-19.
Now, why does this all matter?
Due to a vast web of knowledge being accessible at the fingertips of millions through the internet and social media platforms, it is inevitable that people will come across false information. This act of misinformation must be linked to its source. When false information is spread in such critical moments like a global pandemic, it comes to affect the health and safety of individuals.
The United States Approach
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, it was an unprecedented event for everyone (a word we’ve been hearing maybe too many times in the past year). There was no specific guideline on how to handle it. The different approaches taken by leaders to handle the pandemic had different outcomes and this reflected on the safety of the country. Compared to other countries like Australia or New Zealand, the United States took a more laid-back approach to handle it. There was more fear of the economy crashing than of the pandemic itself.
How does misinformation on social media correlate to this?
When the pandemic began, Donald Trump was the President of the United States. Trump relied on Twitter as one of his main platforms to communicate with the public. Twitter is a platform that is effective because it reaches such a large group of people within several generations (large age group). At the time of his presidency amid the pandemic, Trump tweeted on one occasion
“There is a rise in Coronavirus cases because our testing is so massive and so good, far bigger and better than any other country. This is great news, but even better news is that death, and the death rate, is DOWN.”.
The diction demonstrates how Trump was very relaxed regarding this issue and contradicted himself which questions the validity of his statements. Typically this would be an issue if it was the truth, but at the time even the health experts had confirmed that the death rates and infection rates were rising. As stated in the previous study by Northeastern University, the Republican party is more likely to spread false information. So, it seems unethical for Trump to post a false tweet knowing it would reach millions of people across the globe. In Trump’s statements, he constantly undermined the danger of Coronavirus and how it would affect society, downplaying the fear, which is also known as meiosis. This worked as a tactic to not feed into the fear of the public because he did not have much of a logical argument, most of his arguments relied on ethos because he had a previous authoritative background.
Focusing on The Diction
One of Donald Trump’s most well-known qualities is the way he spoke in hyperboles and with no filter. There were a series of words and phrases that were unprofessional, quite frankly disrespectful, and unnecessarily aggressive.
This cartoon demonstrates a series of harsh phrases and words that he has said in the past. This diction is unfit for an individual who was the main figure representing the United States. His word choice developed his tone, which is usually questionable. It all works as a unit to establish his ethos because he solely relies on his emotions when arguing on a variety of topics.
Influence on Other Politicians
Ted Cruz (Rep.), United States Senator, followed in similar steps on Donald Trump. This was identified when he tweeted,
“Miraculous, COVID cured, the very instant the networks called the race for Biden”.
This clearly a false claim as Coronavirus is something we are still struggling to recuperate from and handle. When a leading politician makes a statement like this, their supporters will claim that this is true and it creates unnecessary false hope, anger, and confusion. Because Twitter is such a common platform, these politicians have utilized a very common/colloquial tone. This allows them to reach many more people across the platform because their diction is easy to read and understand. By doing this, they are encouraging the spread of misinformation.
New Zealand Approach
In a speech made by Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, she clearly emphasizes the severity of the pandemic, rather than downplaying it. She appeals to the community of New Zealand by stating that the only way to overcome this is to work together. By focusing on a logical and emotional argument, New Zealand was able to make much more progress compared to the United States. New Zealand is one of the few places to be classified as Covid-free, thanks to the approach that Ardern took.