In general, mainstream journalists only discussed the epidemic and the lockdown within the framework set by lockdown – they didn’t investigate and interrogate from outside the framework. Where journalists provided challenge, the default position was to perform outrage at every opportunity and to play at unelected opposition, but always in the one direction: demanding the government go further, and lock down sooner and harder. Close businesses? Now schools. Tier Three? Why not Tier Four? Perhaps journalists have come to see themselves more as political activists holding populist Johnson to account, in a simplistic morality play of pandemic deaths versus evil Tory politics.
Of course the political and health journalists employed by newspapers, TV and radio had secure jobs throughout the crisis. If they had suffered financially in the same way as the millions of self-employed, or those in hard-hit sectors such as hospitality and leisure, would they have provided more challenge?
Why else haven’t journalists asked more challenging questions? There is a complex relationship between the government, the media and the public. Noam Chomsky explained the ‘propaganda model of mass media’ in his book, Manufacturing Consent. One aspect of this is that the proximity of mass media to political and economic power means that the media propagate the world views of the powerful. One simple way this works is that newspapers and broadcasters have to cater to the financial motivations of their owners and investors. Proprietors have a top-down effect on the preferences and biases of the media. Boris Johnson was a popular leader at the start of the crisis and so newspapers might have been sympathetic. Put simply, if Rupert Murdoch liked Boris Johnson at the beginning of 2020, a News UK media brand would be more likely to write supportive articles.
Piers Morgan offers a marvellous example of someone who was supported by the media. He was a vociferous supporter of lockdown, and critical of people who broke the rules or appeared to minimise the dangers of the epidemic on Good Morning Britain and through his Twitter account. On 16 December he urged the government to introduce tougher restrictions for Christmas. Yet he went to the Caribbean island of Antigua for his Christmas break. This didn’t break the law, but it did breach guidance, and was contrary to his strong words to the nation and Cabinet ministers. You might call it hypocritical. Guido Fawkes16 broke the story, which was not picked up by the newspapers. Politicians and celebrities who broke the rules were castigated by the media. Piers Morgan is friends with editors and a powerful figure in the media – did they form a silent circle of protection around him?
I spoke to a seasoned investigative journalist from one of the broadsheets about the challenges in political journalism. There is a symbiotic relationship between government and journalists that can – uncomfortably – provide government with the means to partially set the agenda. Firstly, beyond official press briefings, government press officers and SPADs (special advisors to politicians) give favoured information and informal briefings to political journalists. If the journalist writes things the government doesn’t like, the journalist is less likely to be kept in the loop. So to an extent, they are under pressure to write about what they are told, if they want to maintain a preferential relationship. Secondly, if information is fed to the journalist late in the day, there isn’t always time to thoroughly investigate before it runs. If it’s a cracking story, it may be published quite uncritically in order to get the scoop.
The investigative journalist acknowledged that fear is a good story; it’s easy for the media to go full throttle into scare mode. Fear engages the reader. That has a short-term positive benefit for the news outlet, but ultimately it disrupts the delicate balance between public, government and media. The longer lockdowns and restrictions go on, the more advertising and sales revenues suffer. Are we now at the stage where that will, finally, drive a change in tone in the media?
There were certainly times when the relationship between the government and the media looked very cosy. The media enthusiastically covered stories which supported the government position, but ignored stories which might harm it.
For example, two studies were released in a short space of time about the immune response to Covid, one negative about long-term immunity and one positive. Guess which one received the most coverage? The BBC reported on the ‘negative’ study, which showed antibodies fall after a Covid infection, on 27 October 2020,17 and said ‘immunity appears to be fading and there is a risk of catching the virus multiple times’. However, in November it did not report on a study18 showing that a quarter of us might have T-cell immunity to Covid, which is long-lasting.
Low-quality evidence in favour of masks was all over the media, but the one decent randomised controlled trial (RCT) into mask-wearing was barely reported. It found a statistically insignificant difference in infection between mask-wearers and non-mask wearers.19 I interviewed one of the study’s authors for Chapter 13, ‘The climate of fear’. Hospital admissions made headlines, but not discharges. Deaths were reported with grim daily dedication, but not recoveries. Is it any wonder that the UK was one of the most frightened countries in the world?20 Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, the head of the University of Cambridge’s Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, which carried out a study into British attitudes, said he was concerned that the UK had become ‘overanxious’.
Most news outlets rely on advertising revenue for income, which means there is a degree of unspoken catering to the preferences of the advertiser. There was a 48% decline in traditional advertising spend in the UK in the lockdown period 23 March to 30 June. Public Health England became the UK’s largest advertiser, and the government the sixth biggest advertiser, during this time. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced in April 2020 that the UK would spend £35 million on the ‘All in, All together’ advertising campaign in national and regional newspapers. Did that set the tone for editorial coverage at the outset of the epidemic? Campaign reported that Cabinet Office figures reveal that the government invested in excess of £184m on communications relating to Covid-19 in 2020.21 What will the final bill be? And do the newspapers dare to bite the hand that feeds them?
As well as editor and proprietor bias, the influence of advertising revenue, the lure of the clickbait headline and the journalist’s own tendency to feel the fear and allow that to influence reporting, another worrying factor affected media coverage of the epidemic. On 23 April 2020, Ofcom, the UK’s communication regulator, issued strict guidance about Covid coverage. It asked broadcasters to be alert to ‘health claims related to the virus which may be harmful; medical advice which may be harmful; accuracy or material misleadingness in programmes in relation to the virus or public policy regarding it’.22
That guidance could be interpreted as not permitting anyone to challenge the government’s public health policy. Scientific advice evolves, so does government advice, and inhibiting broadcasters from these discussions is dangerous.
Free speech is not just for the good times, it’s for epidemics too. In fact, it is in times of crisis that we need to hold these values even closer. As the Free Speech Union pointed out, broadcasters should be able to air different views without Ofcom making value judgements: ‘The approach adopted by Ofcom in these cases is deeply concerning. It is true, as Ofcom notes, that this is a time of significantly heightened public sensitivity. It is also a time of substantially increased state powers and restrictions on long-established liberties. However, no such restrictions have been placed by the Government on the right to free speech. In fact, it is vital that this right should be upheld so that the Government’s decision to impose wide-ranging restrictions can be challenged by broadcasters and others. This means that any regulator charged with upholding freedom of expression – as is the case with Ofcom – should proceed to restrict that freedom only on a closely-reasoned basis. That is something Ofcom has manifestly failed to do.’23
Ofcom’s decision may have chilled the inclination of the media to explore theories which were counter to government advice. The state broadcaster, the BB
C, refused to challenge state orthodoxy, which is the sort of thing we criticise other countries for. Open debate should have been allowed, in sensible and contextual ways, to inform the public, stimulate scientific debate and acknowledge that consensus moves. There is a word for only sharing information which is biased and is used to promote a political cause: propaganda.
3. FRIGHTFUL HEADLINES
GLOBAL GLOOM
Coronavirus leaves Wuhan a ‘zombieland’ with people collapsing in streets and medics patrolling in hazmat suits The Sun, 24 January 2020
Killer Bug Chaos: Man arrested after filming covert video showing true scale of body bags piling up at Wuhan hospital The Sun, 2 February 2020
Iran’s coronavirus mass graves so big they can be seen from SPACE as 429 die from disease The Sun, 13 March 2020
Elderly ‘dead and abandoned’ in Spanish care homes BBC, 24 March 2020
Thousands more people may have died in Wuhan than authorities are saying Metro, 30 March 2020
US passes 10m Covid cases as virus rages across nation The Guardian, 10 November 2020
Swedish surge in Covid cases dashes immunity hopes The Guardian, 12 November 2020
Brutal Covid second wave exposes Italy’s shortage of intensive care staff The Guardian, 18 November 2020
THE UK’S FRIGHTFUL HEADLINES
UK on ‘war footing’ as elderly face isolation BBC, 15 March 2020
Three numbers that tell a terrifying story BBC, 23 March 2020
Coronavirus horror: London mortuaries expand to prepare for massive surge in deaths Daily Express, 18 March 2020
End of freedom The Daily Telegraph, 24 March 2020
Heartbreak as healthy 21-year-old dies from coronavirus – ‘It’s not just a virus’ Daily Express, 25 March 2020
NHS Hero’s Death on the front line Daily Mirror, 30 March 2020
Don’t go out and enjoy the sunshine The Daily Telegraph, 4 April 2020
Boris Johnson fights ‘truly frightening’ virus as Michael Gove tells of Cabinet shock at PM’s condition Evening Standard, 7 April 2020
Intensive care nurse ‘going through hell’ battling coronavirus begs Britons to stay home Daily Express, 11 April 2020
UK could be ‘worst affected’ country in Europe BBC, 12 April 2020
Coronavirus: UK must prepare for ‘volatile and agitated society’ after lockdown lifted, senior police officer warns The Independent, 19 April 2020
Bombshell virus blow to economy with calls for path out of lockdown as output fall ‘worse than 2008 crash’ Evening Standard, 23 April 2020
Post-Covid UK ‘will face twenty years of pain’ – The UK’s recovery from coronavirus is likely to be slower and shallower than first hoped and Britons will be paying for action to save the economy for the next two decades, a former Bank of England rate-setter has warned The Scotsman, 27 April 2020
UK becomes first country in Europe to pass 30,000 deaths BBC, 6 May 2020
World baffled at how UK got coronavirus so wrong as global headlines blast Government’s ‘biggest failure in generation’ The Sun, 7 May 2020
UK working mothers are ‘sacrificial lambs’ in coronavirus childcare crisis The Guardian, 24 July 2020
Grim milestone as virus cases top 25m globally BBC, 30 August 2020
NHS has worst week ‘in living memory’ as doctor warns situation could deteriorate The Irish News, 27 October 2020
Matt Hancock warns that whole population is at risk of ‘long Covid’ Daily Mail, 17 November 2020
Grim and distressing milestone as Covid deaths in the country pass 5,000 The Scotsman, 18 November 2020
WHO fear Europe will be hit by a THIRD wave of coronavirus early next year due to ‘incomplete’ response to the pandemic Mail Online, 23 November 2020
Mutant Covid Metro, 14 December 2020
London faces Christmas lockdown TODAY as new super-infectious Covid mutant spreads Daily Express, 19 December 2020
HEALTH SCARE HEADLINES
Britain’s youngest coronavirus death: Boy, 13, ‘with no underlying conditions’ dies alone in isolation in London hospital after testing positive, leaving his family ‘beyond devastated’ – after UK death toll rises record 381 to 1,789 Daily Mail, 1 April 2020
My lungs felt like they were filling with quicksand then all five of my family were struck with Covid-19 hell The Sun, 2 April 2020
Covid-19 found in semen of infected men, say Chinese doctors – Authors claim study based on small number of patients opens up chance of sexual transmission The Guardian, 7 May 2020
‘I’ve been through 15 weeks of hell’: ‘Long-haul’ Covid-19 sufferers tell of ‘debilitating’ after-effects Yorkshire Evening Post, 6 July 2020
At least TWO British children have died from mysterious Kawasaki-like disease linked to Covid-19, study reveals Daily Mail, 10 July 2020
People over 6ft have double the risk of coronavirus, study suggests The Daily Telegraph, 28 July 2020
Third of newborns with Covid infected before or during birth The Guardian, 15 October 2020
Celtic star Bitton reveals he couldn’t even STAND as he opens up on Covid-19 hell that left him fearing for his health The Scottish Sun, 21 October 2020
People who contract COVID may develop red and swollen toes which turn purple Sky News, 29 October 2020
Coronavirus - every symptom you need to be aware of including ‘Covid toes’ and hiccups Daily Mirror, 30 October 2020
My Covid hell – student, 20, left in brutal pain from Covid-19 Leicester Mercury, 5 November 2020
Covid ‘could damage fertility of up to 20% of male survivors’ Metro, 12 November 2020
Baby left with lifelong condition after developing rare syndrome linked to coronavirus Wales Online, 15 November 2020
Damage to multiple organs recorded in ‘long Covid’ cases The Guardian, 15 November 2020
Is testicle pain potentially a sign of Covid? 49-year-old Turkish man who had no other symptoms is diagnosed with the virus Mail Online, 18 November 2020
A British father is suffering from blindness and paralysis in a hospital in India after being bitten by a snake while battling coronavirus, his family have said Sky News, 20 November 2020
COVID-19 could cause erectile dysfunction in patients who have recovered from the virus, doctor warns Daily Mail, 6 December 2020
THE WEIRD AND THE WAFER-THIN
Bad news for baldies as new US study finds they’re 40% more at risk of coronavirus Daily Star, 23 July 2020
Health officials recommend ‘glory holes’ for safe sex during the pandemic Metro, 23 July 2020
Why your PETS should be socially distancing: Experts warn dogs should be kept two metres away from other canines and cats kept indoors to protect owners Daily Mail, 11 November 2020
Covid survivors could have potentially life-threatening allergic reaction to hair dye Daily Mirror, 12 November 2020
Masturbate during coronavirus lockdown to ‘boost your immune system and fight off infection’, docs say The Sun, 13 November 2020
Dog-owners face 78% higher risk of catching Covid-19 – and home grocery deliveries DOUBLE the risk, study finds Daily Mail, 16 November 2020
Ice cream tests positive for coronavirus in China Sky News, 16 January 2021
SARAH, 85, BY HER DAUGHTER
My mum is 85 and she has said she doesn’t want any treatment if she gets it. She will let nature take its course.
She doesn’t have any health issues, there’s no reason to be hidden away. She was very active for someone her age and used to be involved in the University of the Third Age and go to a horticultural club, but everything that makes her life worthwhile and gives her forward motion is completely gone.
At the beginning, the ramping up of fear got to her. She began to believe it was inevitable that she would die of Covid. It was foremost in her mind.
We had to tell her to turn the BBC off. I honestly think that because the BBC is so respected and looked to as the voice of calm and reason, it has
completely let down its licence payers because it kept up a constant narrative of fear. It has ceased to do its job in giving balance and it didn’t question the government fiercely. If you just watched or listened to the BBC every day, what hope have you had?
Then she came back to herself. She was brought up in the war, her family were bombed out and so she understands risk and mortality. She got to the point where she wanted the choice to exercise her discretion. She didn’t agree that her choices should be taken away from her.
Sadly I think she has gone downhill – not because of the fear she felt, but because she hasn’t had enough to fill her days. The rug has been pulled away from her.
We would break the rules and visit her in the garden with a cup of tea. It was very important for all of us that we keep seeing each other. When I hear about people who let one of their family die alone in a care home, I am amazed that they put away the very essence of being human. How could they have been so compliant?
You have to work out the risks you want to take. We shouldn’t let fear manipulate us out of proper reasoning. I think people should be encouraged to be stoic and strong and we’ve had the exact opposite.
When we are navigating life, fear is not the right compass.
A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic Page 4