Political communication, press coverage and public interpretation of public health statistics during the coronavirus pandemic in the UK

Abstract

This article examines the way numbers, often concerning risk, were communicated by politicians, covered by the news media and interpreted by the public during the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis in the United Kingdom. To explore this topic, we adopted a mixed-methods approach that included content analysis, comparative thematic analysis and a series of focus groups. Whilst coherency and consistency are touted as essentials in public health messaging, our textual analysis highlighted the disconnect between political communication and news media coverage. Whereas the UK government relied on vague references to curves and peaks to underpin a narrative of consistency and certainty in public health policy, the UK news media referred to specific numbers from within and outside the UK to criticise the government's approach as haphazard and lacking. This disconnect gained even more significance during our focus groups. When discussing numbers, participants referred to news media coverage rather than political messaging, using these figures to challenge the timing and nature of the UK lockdown. These findings present a significant critique of the UK government's communication during this health crisis. Instead of putting forward a coherent, homogenous and clear message to the public, the discourse around numbers and risk was diffracted, disconnected and opaque. This was largely due to the competing narratives presented by the news media.

Unifying human infectious disease models and real-time awareness of population- and subpopulation-level intervention effectiveness

“…During an emerging infectious disease outbreak, it is important to consider how real-time outbreak information is disseminated to the public and the heterogeneity that may exist in data reporting by various sources (e.g. government websites, social media, news media) [21, 43, 44].…”

Political Leaders’ Communication Strategies during COVID-19 in Highly Infected Countries: A Scoping Review

“… Potential for scientific advice to be misused as a tool for political legitimacy, risk of undermining democratic processes, and challenges in maintaining a balance between expert advice and political decision-making. Lawson and Lugo-Ocando, 2022 [ 67 ] UK Mixed-methods approach Politicians communicated vague numerical information about COVID-19, while the media provided specific statistics, leading to a misalignment in public perception. Selective presentation of data to shape public understanding.…”

Monitoring the infection rate: Explaining the meaning of metrics in pandemic news experiences

“…Case numbers have been supplemented with metrics for hospitalizations, deaths, and eventually vaccination coverage. Governments and health authorities have contributed to making metrics integral to public and strategic communication about the pandemic, although such uses can be interpreted as obfuscating as well as clarifying the situation (Billig, 2021; Dudziak, 2021; Lawson and Lugo-Ocando, 2022). Information about pandemic metrics can be found on tracking websites such as Worldometer, but journalistic news outlets have informed people of the latest numbers in their respective local or national communities, as well as reporting international developments.…”