Narrating the Pandemic: COVID-19, China and blame allocation strategies in Western European popular press

Monika Pietrzak-Franger (Corresponding author), Alina Theresa Helene Lange, Rebecca Söregi

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

Abstract

Blaming the emergence and spread of COVID-19 on various social groups has been a central theme in narrating the pandemic. In such narratives, China has often emerged as a convenient scapegoat. However, systematic research into transcultural and culture-specific strategies of stigmatisation in the context of the corona pandemic is still scarce. With the help of a cultural studies perspective and multimodal analysis, we contribute to this effort by tracing the blame allocation strategies of the online platforms of three Western European newspapers - Daily Mail (the United Kingdom), Bild (Germany) and Neue Kronen Zeitung (Austria). We argue that, in their early accounts of the COVID-19 pandemic, all three newspapers perpetuated narratives of the pandemic outbreak that were then skilfully choreographed to support narratives of invasion that register anxieties over China's potential rise to world dominance. While the strategies the venues apply show striking similarities, occasional differences account for the respective countries' differing relations with and attitudes to China.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1286–1306
Number of pages21
JournalEuropean Journal of Cultural Studies
Volume25
Issue number5
Early online date10 Mar 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2022

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 602008 English studies
  • 605004 Cultural studies

Keywords

  • infodemic
  • narrative
  • media
  • pandemic
  • disease
  • illness
  • media communication
  • stigmatization
  • outbreak narratives
  • COVID-19
  • Austria
  • China
  • UK
  • popular press
  • Sinophobia
  • blame allocation
  • EPIDEMIC
  • corona pandemic
  • Germany

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