How the Mainstream Media Help to Spread Disinformation about COVID-19

Raquel Recuero’s article “How the Mainstream Media Help to Spread Disinformation about COVID-19” critically examines the role of established media outlets in propagating misinformation during the early stages of the pandemic. The article argues that mainstream media, despite their authority and reach, often contributed to the dissemination of inaccurate or misleading information due to multiple factors: the pressure to report rapidly evolving news, reliance on unreliable sources, and the replication of unverified claims originating from social media or official statements without sufficient scrutiny. Notably, Recuero highlights how misleading headlines—frequently shared on social media—served as vectors for disinformation, amplifying polarizing narratives.

Drawing on a study co-authored with Felipe Soares, Recuero examines the Brazilian media landscape, demonstrating how journalistic errors in headlines concerning President Jair Bolsonaro’s minimization of COVID-19 prevention measures were disproportionately circulated in Facebook groups. These headlines, often oversimplified or distorted, became the most widely shared, reinforcing misinformation and shaping public endorsement of Bolsonaro’s approach. This example illustrates how mainstream media’s editorial choices, particularly in headline framing, play a significant role in the amplification and legitimization of disinformation.

The article’s contribution lies in its analysis of mainstream media as active participants within the COVID-19 disinformation ecosystem, rather than passive conveyors. By interrogating the structural and operational pressures on media institutions, Recuero challenges assumptions that misinformation stems primarily from fringe social media actors. Instead, she situates mainstream media within a networked information flow where errors and distortions are magnified on a large scale. This work advances scholarship on media ecology and misinformation by foregrounding the interplay between traditional journalistic practices and digital misinformation environments during a global health crisis.