Coronavirus takes up to 87% of the news, with 72% of negative news

Almost all of the news from the four main newscasts was dedicated to coronavirus in May: no less than 87% of the content, adding negativity (72%) to the positive news that dealt with the pandemic. A total of 2,898 articles were analyzed by Paz na Mídia in the month.

Although the volume of negative stories was four times higher than the positive ones (the latter occupied 15% of the time), the news programs also brought stories to fight fake news, with health professionals reporting on the fight against Covid-19, and also showing examples of solidarity.

The country’s political scenario contributed to the increase in the negativity index, with matters related to the resignation of the Minister of Health, Nelson Teich, and conflicts between the powers.

There was a significant drop in the percentage of articles that showed violence, resulting in only 8% (equivalent to 7 hours and 43 minutes). Police reports of theft of medical equipment, drug and illegal goods trafficking, murders and assaults in the middle of the pandemic were recorded, the most emblematic being a major attack in the city of Ourinhos, in São Paulo, where bandits managed to disable almost all networks of radio broadcasting in the city and stole 57 million reais.

There was also news about police violence within communities. The case that generated wide national repercussions was the tragedy involving the teenager João Pedro Mattos Pinto, 14, killed during a police operation in the Complexo do Salgueiro, in São Gonçalo, metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro.

Overseas, the case of George Floyd, murdered in Minneapolis on May 25th, strangled by a white policeman who knelt on his neck during an approach for allegedly using a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill in a supermarket. After his death, protests against racism quickly started to happen, both in the United States and around the world.

Newscasts also highlighted the growing number of cases of domestic violence and femicide in the country. Some initiatives were reported by several companies to help victims to report their aggressors and, in addition, a decree that guaranteed the immediate arrest of the aggressors was approved as a measure to reduce the worrying number of cases.

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