Overhyping HMPV: How Media Sensationalism Can Harm Public Trust and Business Resilience
The recent surge in media coverage of the metapneumovirus (HMPV) outbreak in China has garnered significant attention, prompting heightened vigilance from governments, health agencies and the travel industry regarding its potential threat.
What’s notable at the moment is the Indian press taking a particularly vocal stance.
While the virus, a newly identified pathogen, warrants concern and vigilance, the tone and intensity of Indian reporting have raised questions about whether the issue is being exaggerated for political reasons.
Some Indian outlets have framed the outbreak as a looming global catastrophe, disproportionately emphasising worst-case scenarios and speculative impacts, with mention of #lockdown hashtags and live trackers of cases in their coverage.
Particular attention in news reports like this point to the rampant sharing of online images of overcrowded hospitals and crowds in masks. The granularity of the reporting reflects how much the Indian press is paying attention to this virus - but is this level of scrutiny warranted?
What’s key to note is hyper reporting and sensationalism comes at a cost. Overhyping the virus risks eroding public trust in reliable health information and may contribute to unnecessary panic. And commercially, over-reporting may lead to sparking conspiracies around pharmaceutical companies and its products’ efficacy aimed at tackling HPMV.
The lack of clarity of HMPV could also contribute to misunderstanding with too much emphasis on minute details without clear global context and implications.
We’ve seen this cycle of misinformation occur before in our coverage of COVID, and call out on it for companies to urgently break its pattern by getting ahead of the hype through media monitoring and fact checks. Reports have frequently linked the virus to China's perceived lack of transparency in past health crises, similar to the COVID-19 pandemic, without sufficient evidence that similar patterns are occurring this time.
Such narratives often feed into existing geopolitical tensions, particularly as India and China have ongoing rivalry and are often in or out of diplomatic and territorial disputes. By portraying China as a potential health risk to the region, Indian media narratives may subtly align with nationalist sentiments and broader strategic objectives. This overhyping of the virus also serves domestic political interests. The Indian government has faced criticism for its handling of domestic public health challenges, including periodic outbreaks of diseases such as dengue and air quality crises in major cities.
By shifting focus to external threats like the HMPV, the media may inadvertently—or intentionally—deflect attention from internal issues. Furthermore, amplifying fears of a Chinese-origin virus resonates with a segment of the population already predisposed to skepticism about China's global role, further polarising public opinion.
Faqcheck emphasises the need for companies, in this instance - pharmaceuticals, healthcare service providers, food and beverage businesses, educational institutions, the fast moving consumer goods sector and the general travel industry to be across such conversations.
Corporations must battle against inaccurate information, racist claims, hoaxes and false narratives about this outbreak, either by engaging with fact checking services or capacity building programmes to ensure its staff are well-versed to manage misinformation or disinformation threats. Social media platforms are known to accelerate the spread of conspiracy theories, frequently surpassing the efforts of fact-checkers and official sources. Misinformation can achieve viral status within hours, reaching millions of users long before accurate information becomes available or widely disseminated.
Balanced reporting that focuses on verified facts, international cooperation, and the measures being taken to address the outbreak would serve the public interest far better than alarmist narratives influenced by political undercurrents. We’ve seen this spiral of misinformation happen before in our coverage of Mpox and debunked many myths and fake news about COVID and its impact on hospitals and the healthcare system. So let’s nip misinformation in the bud, and call on Faqcheck to help you verify facts, monitor media and stay ahead of the conversations to safeguard your brand.
