The COVID-19 Inquiry and evidence from key decision makers have refocused our attention on the UK’s pandemic response but who do we blame for the pandemic and its wider consequences?
Dr Jamie Matthews, Principal Academic in Media and Communication at BU, writes about his research exploring the principal figures of blame during coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Periods of instability are intertwined with questions concerning responsibility and blame. As recent appearances by senior public figures at the UK’s COVID-19 Inquiry have demonstrated, blame shifting often emerges as questions are asked of those tasked with mitigating the impacts of a crisis.
For health emergencies, blame can also detract from attempts to understand how a disease emerged and what contributed to its spread. During previous epidemics we have seen blame directed towards marginalised groups, leading to stigmatising attitudes and behaviours.
To understand who is blamed for COVID-19 and its consequences for the UK, we examined the principal actors identified as figures of blame in news media coverage of COVID-19 pandemic and online public comments.
Our research found that in both media coverage and public comments the prominent figures of blame were China and the UK government. This aligns with research from previous health emergencies where blame is placed on external actors or attributed to those organisations and institutions tasked with responding to a crisis.
In contrast to previous research, we also found that individuals or the public were identified as a figure of blame. In our media analysis this was found in reporting, for example, that represented young people as figures of blame for failing to curb social contact that aimed to reduce transmission of the virus. It was also evident in readers’ online comments as people blamed the public for failing to heed the public heath advice and the consequences that would follow: increasing rates of the virus and further restrictions.
It has been established by other research that COVID-19 compliance was framed through the responsibility of individuals. Our research suggests this was reflected in the way COVID-19 was presented in news media and debated in online comments, with blame attributed to the public and the actions of individuals and the implied consequences that may follow.
It indicates how personal responsibility is communicated will need to be a consideration for future health crises and the development of effective public health messaging. In understanding the pandemic and its consequences the shifting of blame away from institutional actors to ordinary members of the public may also detract from their accountability in the UK’s pandemic response. This is something that we will learn further through the COVID-19 Inquiry and the scrutiny of the UK government’s preparedness and response to the pandemic.
