FRONTLINE: The sociology of a pandemic: Countering a COVID 'disinfodemic' with a campus media initiative

Keywords: case studies, coronavirus, COVID-19, disinformation, Frontline, health journalism, journalism as research, journalism education, New Zealand, pandemic, truth-telling

Abstract

Parallel with the global spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, a dangerous ‘disinfodemic’ has been infecting the flow of information worldwide. Communication and media outlets have faced a new challenge with not only being responsible for reportage and analysis of a fast-moving public health emergency—the biggest this century, but forced to sift through the mass circulation of falsehoods that have spread as rapidly as the virus. Concerned about the risks for both health and public responses to disinformation, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres identified the ‘new enemy’ as a ‘growing surge of disinformation’. The UN launched a COVID-19 Communications for Solidarity Initiative to rapidly inform people about facts and science and to ‘promote and inspire acts of humanity’ globally. New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world whose strategy of COVID elimination has been a sustained approach to ‘keep the virus out, find it and stamp it out’. Evoking a theme of ‘our team of five million’ and national kindness, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has led a remarkable campaign blending decisive action and transparency. In this context, this article critically examines a four-month ‘Coronavirus Plus’ initiative conducted by the Pacific Media Centre at a communication programme in one of the New Zealand’s universities in response to the pandemic, deploying the Asia Pacific Report website, asiapacificreport.nz. 

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Author Biographies

David Robie, Pacific Media Centre - AUT

Editor of Pacific Journalism Review and Professor of Communication Studies and Journalism

School of Communication Studies

Auckland University of Technology

Sri Krishnamurthi, Pacific Media Centre, Auckland University of Technology

Contributing editor of the Pacific Media Centre's Pacific Media Watch Project.

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Published
30-11-2020
How to Cite
Robie, D., & Krishnamurthi, S. (2020). FRONTLINE: The sociology of a pandemic: Countering a COVID ’disinfodemic’ with a campus media initiative. Pacific Journalism Review : Te Koakoa, 26(2), 179-200. https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v26i2.1131