“We don’t believe in [the] Coronavirus; we believe in Allah. Whatever happens, it happens from Allah”: Pakistani media’s response to countering conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic

Author Affiliation

  • Dr. Amir Hamza Marwan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts (SSLA) at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi, Pakistan

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Was this content written or created while at IBA?

Yes

Document Type

Article

Source Publication

Newspaper Research Journal

Keywords

COVID-19, Conspiracy theories, Priming Pakistani media, The News, Dawn, Daily Times, The Nation

Disciplines

Journalism Studies | Mass Communication | Medical Humanities

Abstract

This study examines the coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic by the four leading newspapers of Pakistan—Dawn, The News, Daily Times and The Nation—when they were responsible for informing and educating the public during a health crisis hit by conspiracy theories. The researchers utilized content analysis to analyze 1,124 news stories. The findings reveal less emphasis was placed on scientifically investigating the causes, precautions and care of coronavirus and dispelling public misconceptions.

Citation/Publisher Attribution

Naz, M., & Marwan, A. H. (2024). “We don’t believe in [the] Coronavirus; we believe in Allah. Whatever happens, it happens from Allah”: Pakistani media’s response to countering conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic. Newspaper Research Journal, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/07395329241280277

Publication Status

Published

Rights Information

© 2024 NOND of AEJMC.

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