(Newswire.net — June 19, 2021) —
COVID-19 has been on the headlines of the news since the initial reports of its inception were published in China. Electronic and print news media have played a key role in sharing vital information to the public about the pandemic. As a result, news channels, such as the BBC and others, have seen a definite surge in their all-time viewer’s ratings. However, the negative side of traditional media is their biases. The biases of traditional media about the distribution of news related to the COVID-19 have long been critiqued from a range of standpoints. This pandemic has focused attention particularly on the impact of social media on society as a general and the potential for information pollution through social media platforms.
The role of social media in the distribution of news during the COVID times
Social media now plays a very important role in disaster communication, news communications have heavily been depending upon the different platforms of social media. Specially Instagram is most popular social media nowadays. You can easily buy Instagram accounts for also business use. The best advantage of using social media as a news platform is that it enables real-time peer-to-peer information exchanges. This in turn gives the social communities related to any crisis self-organise and respond to local issues.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a perfect example of how social media could act as an active platform when it comes to disaster control and management. Studies have shown that real news has frequently circulated on social media a long time before the news became broadcasted on traditional media platforms, both print and electronic. For example, in very shocking research, it has been revealed that the spread of the virus across Italy started doing rounds significantly earlier, on social media, than on the other platforms of media.
The accountability of government on the impact of news on social media during the COVID times
As governments around the world did a bad job to contain the spread of COVID-19, social media has also become the lone voice of the distressed public in general and it has been used to voice criticism and concerns related to the different decisions of the governments. The different hashtags that dominated Twitter or other social media platforms during the different phases of the pandemic. As public gatherings and normal government processes had been banned worldwide to stop the spread of infections, such hashtags have become the face of public accountability.
Besides becoming the voice of the people on the various issues related to the accountability of the government, social media has also played a major role in becoming the bridge for the ‘caring and sharing’ communities across the world. Social media has connected individuals and charities to the people who were desperately in need of financial or medical help. It has helped volunteers to reach out to the elderly and vulnerable through hashtag campaigns, offering to help with food, medicine and grocery shopping. Different social media platforms have developed new features where volunteers can reach out to people in need.
Conclusion
COVID-19 had successfully demonstrated that social media continues to be an important platform for governments, NGOs, influencers and regular users to discuss often complex academic issues and find solutions in new and innovative ways.