The Evaluation of the News Related to Coronavirus in National Media before and after the First Declared Case in Turkey

ABSTRACT

Objective: We aimed to investigate the content of Covid-19 news in the media before and after the declaration of the first Covid-19 case in Turkey, as well as the compatibility of their medical massages with World Health Organisation (WHO) data. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, Covid-19 news in Turkey's most visited webpages of five newspapers and five internet news sites was examined retrospectively for two months categorized as the periods of one month before and one month after the first Covid-19 case declaration in Turkey. The news was evaluated according to their content, sources, content and headline compatibility, evidence and accuracy levels in terms of WHO reports, its potential to evoke social negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, panic, and to produce negative bias against China. Statistical analysis was performed by using the SPSS 21 program and the results were expressed as numbers and percentages. Results: It was determined that in total of 7915 news, the most content was about the protection and prevention methods. In the news before and after the first case declaration in Turkey, the content-headline incompatibility rates were 50,8% and 1,1%;incompatibility rates of the medical information in the news with WHO reports were 7,1% and 2,9%;the rates of referencing were 74,3% and 66,9%, the rates of the news having the potential to produce anxiety and fear in the reader were 56,9% and 19,6% and to produce prejudice and negative attitudes towards China were 19,7% and 4,6%, respectively. Conclusions: It seems that the declaration of the first Covid-19 case changed the news making pattern of the media to a more responsible behaviour for the public. We suggest that it is a rational approach to use the power of the media correctly in enhancing public awareness towards Covid-19 pandemic.