ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an overload of scientific information in the media, sometimes including misinformation or the dissemination of false content. This so-called infodemic, at a low intensity level, is also manifested in the spread of scientific and medical illustrations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Since the beginning of the pandemic, images of other long-known viruses, sometimes imaginary reconstructions, or viruses that cause diseases in other, non-human species have been attributed to SARS-CoV-2. In a certain way, one can thus speak of a case of an imagedemic based on an alteration of the rigour and truth of informative illustrations in the media. Images that illustrate informative data have an influence on the emotional perception of viewers and the formation of attitudes and behaviours in the face of the current or future pandemics. So, image disinformation should be avoided, making it desirable that journalists confirm the validity of scientific images with the same rigour that they apply to any other type of image, instead of working with fake, made-up images from photo stock services. At a time when scientific illustration has great didactic power, high-quality information must be illustrated using images that are as accurate and real as possible, as for any other news topic. It is fundamental that informative illustrations about COVID-19 used in the media are scientifically rigorous.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The recent COVID-19 pandemic has seen an explosion of coronavirus-related information. In many cases, this information was supported by images representing the SARS-CoV-2. AIM: To evaluate how attributes of images representing the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that were used in the initial phase of the coronavirus crisis in 2020 influenced the public's perceptions. METHODS: We have carried out an in-depth survey using 46 coronavirus images, asking individuals how beautiful, scientific, realistic, infectious, scary and didactic they appeared to be. RESULTS: We collected 91,908 responses, obtaining 15,315 associations for each category. While the reference image of SARS-CoV-2 used in the media is a three-dimensional, colour, illustration, we found that illustrations of the coronavirus were perceived as beautiful but not very realistic, scientific or didactic. By contrast, black and white coronavirus images are thought to be the opposite. The beauty of coronavirus images was negatively correlated with the perception of scientific realism and didactic value. CONCLUSION: Given these effects and the consequences on the individual's perception, it is important to evaluate the influence that different images of SARS-CoV-2 may have on the population.
Subject(s)
Perception , SARS-CoV-2/physiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , COVID-19/pathology , COVID-19/virology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Photic Stimulation , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young AdultABSTRACT
Las primeras imágenes reales del SARS-CoV-2, el coronavirus causante del Covid-19, se obtuvieron entre el 24 de enero y el 5 de marzo de 2020 con diversas técnicas de microscopía electrónica. Sin embargo fue habitual desde marzo de 2020 ver imágenes dibujadas, diseñadas o interpretadas en 3 dimensiones, a veces incluso representando otros virus o directamente inventados. En este análisis se estudia una muestra de imágenes supuestamente del SARS-CoV-2 aparecidas al inicio de esta pandemia en internet. Las imágenes falsas o las ilustraciones imaginarias del Covid-19 predominan en todas las fuentes de información examinadas, excepto las documentadas en enciclopedias o artículos científicos. Los medios de comunicación utilizan más imágenes falsas del coronavirus, a menudo de repositorios o stocks de pago, que verdaderas, habitualmente de libre acceso. Cuando se presentan contenidos sobre el coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, es más común el uso de las ilustraciones falsas irreales, retocadas estéticamente, que de fotografías reales o científicas del virus. La imagen de referencia en los medios de comunicación y otras fuentes de información del coronavirus es una imagen de diseño retocada para ilustración, a color y en 3 dimensiones y no una imagen real. Las imágenes originales, reales, del coronavirus no tuvieron la presencia informativa esperada en una situación de emergencia. El uso de imágenes no realistas del coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 parece una manifestación de infodemia de baja intensidad.Alternate abstract:The first real images of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, were obtained between January 24 and March 5, 2020 using various electron microscopy techniques. However, since March 2020, it has been most common to see drawn, designed, or interpreted images in three dimensions, sometimes even representing different or directly invented viruses. This analysis studies a sample of images supposedly of SARS-CoV-2 that appeared at the beginning of this pandemic on the internet. Fake images or imaginary illustrations of the Covid-19 coronavirus predominate in all sources of information examined, except for those documented in encyclopedias or scientific articles. Rather than real images, the media have used more fake images of the coronavirus, often from repositories or paid stocks, usually freely available. When presenting SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus content, the use of fake, unrealistic, esthetically retouched illustrations is more common than actual or scientific photographs of the virus. The reference image used in the media and other information sources of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is a retouched three-dimensional, color design image for illustration rather than an actual image. The original, real images of the coronavirus did not have the expected informative presence in an emergency situation. The use of unrealistic images of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus seems to be a manifestation of a low-intensity infodemic. However, information professionals must use rigorous images to support their information, also in the case of the Covid-19.