The Outbreak of Disease: Perspectives on the Interaction between Narratives of Fear and Public Policy

Abstract

With many modern viruses and bacteria becoming increasingly more deadly, how countries react to disease outbreaks becomes more crucial than ever. With the recent Coronavirus epidemic beginning in Wuhan, China, spreading across the globe, we can watch first-hand how modern industrialized societies react to massive viral outbreaks. In this research project, we examine how countries such as China, the United States of America, and Germany respond to a massive viral outbreak and how what they do to protect their citizens from these deadly diseases interacts with existing narratives of prejudice against certain countries or segments of their population. Examining and evaluating public policy and news media in China, Germany, and the USA, we find that large-scale outbreaks can affect the public’s perspective on the perceived ‘Other’ while pushing narratives of fear promoting confusion and misunderstanding. A country can take a number of precautions from only warning the public and suggesting enhanced hygiene practices to quarantining large segments of its population in an effort to prevent a more significant outbreak. Which measures are taken affects public opinion and could save or stifle the efforts to contain the disease. Our research ultimately contributes to ongoing efforts of overcoming narratives of prejudice and fear, which and thus, promotes progress in the prevention of disease.