Assessment of media and risk communication during COVID-19: The case of Algeria

Abstract

During the COVID-19, mass media have played and continue to play a fundamental role in protecting individuals. However, the most important role of the media in a crisis is to involve people in this process in order to save their lives. Like in all corners of the world, mass media in Algeria have contributed and continue to contribute to give more information to prevent from COVID-19. This paper attempted to explore the role-played by the media during COVID-19 in giving sufficient details and convincing people about existing risks. The study tried to know people’s perceptions about news related to situation pandemic in Algeria. The aim of this study was also to find out communication patterns during the pandemic period. The present research adopted a quantitative approach using an electronic survey. In order to collect data, an electronic questionnaire was conducted. A total of 329 respondents from the east of Algeria have participated in this study, 65% (215) were male and 35% (114) were female. The findings showed that the majority of respondents preferred social media to get information about the epidemiological situation.