Covid-19 Communication Strategies in India: An Analysis Using Social Amplification Risk Framework (SARF)

Abstract

The Pandemic showed the world at large that appropriate risk communication strategies are of vital importance to deal with a disaster of unprecedented scale. Conventional communication alongside a host of social media played a range of roles from spreading awareness, building preparedness, reducing mental anxiety and associated stigma, spurring policies and action to spreading misinformation, reinforcing popular myths, blurring the distinction between science and pseudo-science. This chapter seeks to understand how effective the communication strategies were in India during the Covid Pandemic. Drawing from the “Social Amplification of Risk framework” it examines the relationship between information sources with the nature of medium and social stations. The broad objective is to understand how social and cultural factors shape the impact of communication. The study highlights that risk concerning the pandemic was amplified or attenuated depending on social and political considerations. It calls for increased attention to the government’s role in regulating and reframing communication strategies.