COVID-19: Who Do I Trust?

When it comes to Covid-19, it is very hard to know who to trust and who not to trust in regards to getting information. Personally, I usually turn to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) or WHO (World Health Organization) to inform myself of the latest guidelines and updates. Since the media has been very inconsistent about what information is presented and how it is presented, I have decided to not get my information from the news or any social media platform. I do not trust that any news source is giving factual, unbiased information, so for that reason, I have stopped watching the news. Since being at UK, I have been getting most of my updates through the university. My family, on the other hand, are firm believers in watching the news to get their information. Before coming to UK, various different news channels were constantly on at my house. Especially during the very beginning of quarantine, my family and friends would watch every daily briefing from the president and our state governor. Hearing the debates on what to do and what not to do in regards to COVID was exhausting and drove me away from the media. 

Overall, the way the media and others have politicalized COVID has made me lose my trust in the media. The divide in the country because of this pandemic, in my opinion, is more dangerous than the actual pandemic itself. As seen in the picture above, this pandemic has been completely politicized. The two parties have differentiating opinions on how COVID should be handled, resulting in a divided country. This divide has been enhanced by the media and faulty information that has been put out.