COVID-19 VACCINES: THE POLISH INFORMATION SPACE. INTERIM REPORT NUMBER 3
COVID-19 Vaccines: Polish information space using the example of articles published by Onet.pl, Wp.pl, Interia.pl, Wpolityce.pl, Gazeta.pl in the period between 7-20 June 2021.
Below are presented the partial results of the monitoring conducted by the Center for Propaganda and Disinformation Analysis as a part of the “Covid-19 vaccines in Polish- and Russian-language online media outlets: specifics and correlation between them in Polish and Russian information spaces” project and implemented during the period of 10 May – 29 August 2021.
Source: Own elaboration, Center for Propaganda and Disinformation Analysis
Source: Own elaboration, Center for Propaganda and Disinformation Analysis
Main topics:
- Start of the immunization program for 12-15 year olds;
- Introduction of a reduced time gap between vaccine doses;
- Information about the anti-vaccine “STOP NOP” organisation’s exploitation of the deceased 18-year-old’s photo on Facebook as a warning against vaccination and a police report filed against them by his family for spreading false information (P. Olejarczyk, Antyszczepionkowcy wykorzystali zdjęcie zmarłego mężczyzny. Jego matka: sprawę zgłaszam na policję, Onet Trójmiasto, 07.06.2021);
- Controversies over the vaccination of a 6-year-old girl for clinical trial purposes;
- Discussions on immunization of pregnant women (P. Sowa, Szczepienia przeciwko COVID-19 w czasie ciąży. „Pani absolutnie nie zaszczepimy”, Interia Wydarzenia, 11.06.2021);
- G7 leaders donating surplus vaccines to poorer countries to COVAX program;
- Travel regulations to EU countries;
- Warnings about the delta variant of the coronavirus and its symptoms, as well as the possibility of another mutation (Ekspert ostrzega przed niechęcią do szczepień. „Możemy stworzyć nowego potwora”, Onet Wiadomości, 17.06.2021);
- Unsatisfactory results of the effectiveness of the German CureVac vaccine;
- Announcement of research for the purpose of developing a new form of COVID-19 vaccine in the form of a nasal spray (Ruszyły badania nowej szczepionki na koronawirusa. Będzie w formie sprayu do nosa, Interia Wydarzenia, 20.06.2021);
- Further doubts regarding AstraZeneca vaccines abroad, including sending its doses by France to Africa due to lack of domestic interest.
Conclusions:
Most of the news in the analysed period during the studied period was purely for information purposes only. They were focused on reporting new deliveries of vaccines, the vaccination schedule or studies regarding vaccine effectiveness in the face of approaching delta variant. There was an information about two incidents related to the anti-vaccine movement in Poland.
Some news websites, however, can be accused of fear mongering through the so-called clickbaits used in article titles to increase the number of visits. Examples:
- “EU reveals: Problems with Johnson's vaccine” [UE ujawnia: Problemy ze szczepionką Johnsona] – It was about delivery delays and not the post-vaccination side effects (Szczepionki Johnson & Johnson. UE spodziewa się opóźnień, Interia Wydarzeń, 11.06.2021).
- “Italy: 18-year-old vaccinated against COVID-19 with AstraZeneca” [Włochy: Nie żyje 18-latka zaszczepiona przeciw COVID-19 AstraZenecą] (Włochy: Nie żyje 18-latka zaszczepiona przeciw COVID-19 AstraZenecą, Interia Wydarzenia, 10.06.2021).
Author: Raffaella Margaryan
Editorial supervision: Marta Kowalska
Graphic layout: Katarzyna Rogala
READ THE FULL REPORT: The article is part of the report: “COVID-19 vaccines in Polish- and Russian-language online media outlets: specifics and correlation between them in Polish and Russian information spaces”, which we are about to publish soon.
See related:
- COVID-19 Vaccines: Polish information space in the period between 10 May and 23 May 2021
- COVID-19 Vaccines: Polish information space in the period between 24 May and 6 June 2021
- COVID-19 Vaccines: Polish information space in the period between 21 June and 4 July 2021
- COVID-19 Vaccines: Polish information space in the period between 5-18 July 2021
- COVID-19 Vaccines: Polish information space in the period between 19 July and 1 August 2021
- COVID-19 Vaccines: Polish information space in the period between 2-15 August 2021
- COVID-19 Vaccines: Polish information space in the period between 16-29 August 2021
The publication is part of the report: “COVID-19 vaccines in Polish- and Russian-language online media outlets: specifics and correlation between them in Polish and Russian information spaces”. This report has been prepared with support from IRI's Beacon Project. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of IRI.
