AMERICA IS IN A STATE OF MASS FORMATION PARALYSIS:
In December 2020, the authors of an aptly titled paper, “Why Is All COVID-19 News Bad News?”, documented the ways in which the American media chose to cover the pandemic. More specifically, they focused on the tone of the messages being communicated. According to the authors, “91 percent of stories by US major media outlets are negative in tone versus 54 percent for non-US major sources and 65 percent for scientific journals.”
In the US, the negativity appeared to be intentional, with “stories of increasing COVID-19 cases” outnumbering “stories of decreasing cases by a factor of 5.5,” even during periods when new cases were actually declining.
Is it any surprise, then, that the rate of depression, a close relative of learned helplessness, continues to skyrocket? Yes, the pandemic has played a significant role in creating the malaise, but so too has the manner in which the pandemic has been covered by mainstream media outlets. From Russiagate to the threats posed by Covid-19, the American people have, for years, been drip-fed a steady diet of fabrications and fear. Many now find themselves paralyzed, unable to see a meaningful path forward. Paralysis, not psychosis, has gripped the nation.
Earlier: Omicron DEATH!
For a while now it’s been clear the primary objective of most pandemic coverage is to scare the socks off mass audiences. Good news, bad news, boring news, interesting news, news that’s more of a wash in the final analysis, news that’s a net plus overall: it’s all presented as terrifying, more signs of the Apocalypse. There’s no better example than the stampede to advertise the “first death from Omicron” in the United States.
Matt Orfalea does a hilarious job of stitching together an homage to the latest moral panic. So many great little details here, from the “Way Too Early” background to one reporter’s premature death report to the “aggressive Covid vice” imagery, the dramatic Biden-cough, and so much more.
It was the world’s loudest record-scratch when the WHO in the first week of December said the ominous “Omicron variant” of Covid-19 had been detected in 38 countries, but without any known deaths.
Biden and the DNC-MSM just can’t let go of the spirit of 2020. As for the rest of us: Ignoring Them Is the Only Way Out.
Related: ‘So when does the emergency end?’ Justice Barrett asks on behalf of the American people.