Feeling Panicked About Coronavirus? Media Coverage of New Epidemics Often Stokes Unnecessary Fear

Posted Thursday, February 20, 2020 10:30 am

Karin Wahl-Jorgensen | Nieman Lab

New contagious diseases are scary. They frighten us because they’re unknown and unpredictable. The ongoing outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has received extensive media attention—coverage that can tell us a lot about how uncertainty in the face of such an epidemic can all too easily breed fear.

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Feeling Panicked About Coronavirus? Media Coverage of New Epidemics Often Stokes Unnecessary Fear

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