COVID-19 and Quarantine: The Role and Impact of Media in Kosovo's Society

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 and the quarantine affected Kosovo society by highlighting the media's role and importance in informing and raising citizen's citizens in a pandemic situation. At a time like this, besides the information and citizen's awareness, this situation was accompanied by a lot of fake news, complicating the social and psychological problems of the audience/citizens, leading to fear, anxiety, and social insecurity. Many media were driven by the desire of material interests, especially the online portals, social networks, etc., offering fake or false news to the public for the sole purpose of their material gain. This study aims to research the Kosovar media's role and impact during the pandemic and quarantine time. For this research, we have used the online questionnaire (Google Form) during July and August 2020. The target group was the population over 15 (N=908) in Kosovo's entire territory. T-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and other methods were used to analyze the data. The study results show that 51% of Kosovar citizens informed about Covid-19 during the pandemic and quarantine had used social networks. More than 63.7% of citizens were heavily influenced and, on average, by fake news. Fake news and misinformation from the media in Kosovo society hurt specific society categories, especially those with lower levels of education and social and economic problems, causing fear, social anxiety, and social insecurity.