It Takes Two to Tango: How the COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign in Israel Was Framed by the Health Ministry vs. the Television News

Abstract

BackgroundThe internet has become a major resource in information transfer during COVID-19, and traditional means of communication are digitized and accessible online to the public at large.ObjectivesThis study seeks to examine how Israel's two main television news channels (Channel 12 and Channel 13) covered the Covid-19 vaccination campaign, compared to how the Ministry of Health ran the campaign.MethodsA qualitative study based on triangulation of online content analyses from three different sources: advertising campaigns, social media posts and reports on television news channels. The research sample included 252 reports from the newsrooms of Channel 13 (n = 151) and Channel N12 (n = 101), Israel's two leading news channels, all broadcast between December 1, 2020 and November 30, 2021. The sample also included posts from Israel Ministry of Health Facebook page and advertising campaigns from the Facebook page of the Israel Government Advertising Agency (LAPAM), which constructs advertising campaigns for the MOH (113 items).ResultsThe research findings reveal congruence between the way the MOH framed its vaccination campaign and news coverage of the vaccination issue. The vaccination campaign used three primary framing strategies: (1) positive framing (emphasizing the vaccine's advantages and stressing that the vaccine is safe and effective based on cost-benefit calculations and public health perspectives); (2) fear appeal strategy (conveying persuasive messages that seek to arouse fear through threats of impending danger or harm); (3) attribution of responsibility strategy (blaming the unvaccinated and targeting all those who criticized Israel's generic vaccination policy).ConclusionAs the watchdog of democracy, the news should function as a professional and objective source that criticizes government systems if necessary and strives to uncover the truth throughout the crisis. Public trust, which is so essential during such a crisis, can be achieved only if the news channels provide reports and meaningful journalistic investigations that challenge the system. By doing so, they can help fight conflicts of interest that divert management of the crisis from the professional health field to the political-economic arena.

Addressing conflicts of interest regarding the vaccine in infectious disease outbreaks based on good governance for health approach: a policy brief

“… 17 Implementing transparent and accountable public emergency procurement practices by utilising open contracts and electronic procurement methods [ 46 ]. 18 Strengthening the media's role by providing support for monitoring and clarifying COI cases and advocating for policy-making aimed at effectively addressing COI [ 64 , 65 ]. 19 Raising awareness and strengthening advocacy by informing society about COI cases through websites and social media platforms [ 66 ].…”

“…During crises, the media is vital in revealing realities through investigative journalism and critical reporting on government policies. This role helps prevent COI cases that may divert crisis management from public health to political-economic fields, potentially resulting in corruption [ 64 ]. Establishing a public registration and publishing platform to disclose the COI of researchers and policymakers reminds journalists that COI can also influence news sources.…”

Public health agencies’ use of social media for communication during pandemics: a scoping review of the literature

“…PHAs featured diverse personalities as subjects or spokespersons on their social media channels, such as social media influencers [ 14 , 40 , 69 ], celebrities [ 70 , 71 ], medical personnel [ 72 ], political leaders [ 73 ], or victims sharing personal experiences [ 42 , 72 ]. Another tactic was “attribution of responsibility,” which negatively labelled non-conforming members of the public [ 67 , 74 ]. At other times, PHAs sometimes opted for “ethical disengagement” [ 10 ] as a means of enhancing the effectiveness of its messages.…”

“…Health messages from PHAs could be perceived to be insufficiently transparent and objective [ 74 , 91 ]. The transparency of PHAs was called into question when they faced a deficit in public trust, as evidenced by fear-inducing health messages that suggested hidden motives related to financial gain, corruption, conspiracy [ 24 , 58 , 60 , 85 ] or political interference [ 26 ].…”

Ethics of Nudging in the COVID-19 Crisis and the Necessary Return to the Principles of Shared Decision Making: A Critical Review

“…The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created a social media toolkit with sample messages and accompanying graphics and videos bearing the CDC logo for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn [ 40 ]. The introduction of social norms such as "protect yourself and others", "do not endanger others", or appeals to "solidarity", which are usually consistent with people's moral values [ 14 , 33 , 35 , 113 , 114 ], are other examples of moral nudges, as well as the idea that vaccination is a social contract [ 115 ], and one has a moral obligation to be vaccinated for the common good. Those who do not abide by this social contract run the risk of being socially sanctioned or ostracized [ 115 , 116 ] while those who comply with it are socially rewarded.…”