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The role of the information environment during the first COVID-19 wave in Germany

[journal article]

Stier, Sebastian
Weiß, Bernd
Hartmann, Timo
Flöck, Fabian
Breuer, Johannes
Schaurer, Ines
Kummerow, Mirjan

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by intense debates about the role of the information environment. On the one hand, citizens learn from public information campaigns and news coverage and supposedly adjust their behaviours accordingly; on the other, there are fears of widespread misinformat... view more

The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by intense debates about the role of the information environment. On the one hand, citizens learn from public information campaigns and news coverage and supposedly adjust their behaviours accordingly; on the other, there are fears of widespread misinformation and its detrimental effects. Analyzing the posts of the most important German information providers published via Facebook, this paper first identifies a uniform salience of subtopics related to COVID-19 across different types of information sources that generally emphasized the threats to public health. Next, using a large survey conducted with German residents during the first COVID-19 wave in March 2020 we investigate how information exposure relates to perceptions, attitudes and behaviours concerning the pandemic. Regression analyses show that getting COVID-19-related information from a multitude of sources has a statistically significant and positive relationship with public health outcomes. These findings are consistent even across the ideological left/right spectrum and party preferences. These consistent correlational results demonstrate that during the first wave of COVID-19, a uniform information environment went hand in hand with a cautious public and widely accepted mitigation measures. Nonetheless, we discuss these findings against the backdrop of an increased politicization of public-health measures during later COVID-19 waves.... view less

Keywords
perception; regression analysis; epidemic; Federal Republic of Germany; information; public institution; facebook; broadcasting; behavior; attitude; public health; survey; source of information

Classification
Impact Research, Recipient Research
Interactive, electronic Media
Health Policy

Free Keywords
COVID-19; information exposure; infodemic; public broadcasting; ZA5664: GESIS Panel - Extended Edition (Data file Version 37.0.0); ZA5665: GESIS Panel - Standard Edition (Data file Version 37.0.0); ZA5667: GESIS Panel Special Survey on the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak in Germany (Data file Version 1.1.0)

Document language
English

Publication Year
2022

Page/Pages
p. 1-19

Journal
Political Research Exchange, 4 (2022) 1

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/2474736X.2022.2135451

ISSN
2474-736X

Status
Published Version; peer reviewed

Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0

FundingGefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 491156185 / Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) - Project number 491156185


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© 2007 - 2025 Social Science Open Access Repository (SSOAR).
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