Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters)

Permanent URI for this collection

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Analysing misinformation coverage by three newspapers during the 2nd phase of covid-19 vaccination in south africa: the daily sun, the daily maverick, and the sowetan from 7 may to 7 july 2021
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) SEMENYA, ANNA MOSHALA; FRANZ KRUGER
As South Africa geared up for a mass vaccination programme to inoculate its citizens, with the public eager to return to normalcy after enduring varying degrees of lockdowns for over a year, the enigma surrounding the virus provided fertile ground for anti-vaccine groups to propagate misinformation consisting of misconceptions, myths, fake news and rumours. The mainstream media, wielding significant power and influence, played a pivotal role in disseminating information to enhance public health awareness during the pandemic before and after vaccines became available. This paper endeavours to assess how three national newspapers addressed the prevalent misinformation at the time. It does so by reviewing articles published 10 days before the phase two vaccination campaign commenced up to two months after the aforementioned commencement. The results indicate that one newspaper attempted to address the misinformation explicitly, another did so through subtle discourse whilst the last one remained resolute in its pro-vaccine stance and did not entertain the misinformation.