The media gets blamed for a lot these days. One could easily argue we’ve become a pretty popular punching bag.
Most recently, some have accused news outlets of fuelling fear and panic over the novel coronavirus outbreak that the World Health Organization recently declared a pandemic.
But reporters and journalists cannot be held accountable for individuals with underdeveloped reading comprehension and critical thinking abilities.
To date, I do not recall one single article written by anyone in the media telling people to rush out and panic purchase every last roll of toilet paper they can get their hands on.
To my humble recollection, all I have seen are journalists reporting on what the world’s governments are doing — or not doing — to address the outbreak of a new virus for which there exists no vaccine as of yet. The coverage I’ve seen naturally also includes figures of confirmed cases, numbers of dead, recovery rates, and even comparisons with other contagions.
In everything I’ve read that quotes or paraphrases politicians and health organization leaders, nowhere did I ever see anything that in the slightest resembled:
Health officials: Bathroom tissue will protect you from the virus!
Government officials: Stock up as though the apocalypse is upon us, everyone for themselves!
All that I have read in the media since the first few infections came onto the radar months ago in Wuhan, China is practically the precise opposite.
Health officials are telling people not to panic; that the vast majority of patients will recover fully. However, basic hygienic precautions should be followed to reduce the risk of exposure to a substantial number of susceptible demographics that include elder citizens and those with pre-existing health conditions.
And political leaders, well, they say a lot of things.
I’ve seen a range of responses from world leaders, from serious, stoic and down-to-business, to dismissive, aloof, overconfident and off-the-cuff, inspiring zero confidence.
But in none of the political platitudes and pontificating were there any whispers of toilet paper or apocalypse.
While I could see how some folks, concerned by the thought of a self-imposed quarantine, might stockpile medicine and food, perhaps even soap, the bathroom tissue has caused me — and many others — to cock an eyebrow in confusion.I mean, how many rolls are they expecting to go through in two weeks? They might have a bigger problem than the virus if they’re going through that much toilet paper in such a short period of time!
So where the TP purchase panic spawned from is a mystery.
Who knows, perhaps someone just wanted to go viral, in the digital sense of social media, and as a joke loaded up several cases to see if anyone else would jump along.
Apparently, it’s basically human psychology.
“Why’s he buying all that TP...must know something I don’t — I better quickly buy as much as possible before it’s all gone!”
Whatever triggered the TP hysteria, the media, who are relaying the messages our leaders and officials are attempting to convey to the public, are not to blame.
If anything, the problem stems from the inundation of misinformation that spreads on social media even faster than the virus itself.
Simon Ducatel is the editor of the Sundre Round Up.
