Beyond populism through and by the media? Populist politics and journalistic framings of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, Poland, Serbia, and the United States

Research on news coverage of health threats, including COVID-19, often emphasizes excessive fearmongering and politicization, at the expense of reporting on scientific responses and preventive measures. To advance the debate on COVID-19 news and investigate the impact of populism on health crisis reporting, this article examines journalistic framings of COVID-19 in four countries led by populist politicians at the start of the pandemic: Brazil, Poland, Serbia, and the United States. Based on framing analysis of 2089 stories published in 12 outlets between 2020 and 2022, our findings confirm the lack of science and technology frames and prominence of politicization, but question claims about overly alarmist coverage. We also find that coverage was polarized along the pro- versus antipopulist axis, with some outlets openly critical of populism (“media against populism”) and others supporting populist actors due to ownership pressures or regulatory control (“populism over the media”).