Official guidelines and good practices for public communication in health crises
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22409/43t05798Keywords:
Health communication; Institutional guidelines; Professional practices; Pandemic.Abstract
Health communication involves symbolic disputes and can strengthen or break down social divisions, especially in populist contexts that undermine trust in scientific authorities. Our research aimed to identify positive differences in the guidelines published by health agencies in the United States and the European Union for the dissemination of information of general interest to confront the COVID-19 pandemic in divided societies marked by authoritarian populism, the spread of misinformation, and science denialism. In the United States, there was an emphasis on segmenting audiences and adapting messages. In the European Union, the priority was transparency, with sanctions for misinformation. Both have invested in digital monitoring and media education, reflecting WHO guidelines.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Danilo Rothberg, Paulo Ferracioli
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