Jon Stewart, host of "The Daily Show," used his opening segment on Monday to criticize the news media for its extensive coverage of hantavirus. Stewart suggested that many outlets continued to push a narrative of panic, even though most experts indicated that the virus was unlikely to become an emergency.
Stewart's Critique of Media Hype
"The point is, some people may get pretty sick, but forget COVID. This ain't no pandemic. Hell, this hantavirus, it's not even in monkeypox territory. But, I guess reality don't sell papers," Stewart said. He then played a series of clips featuring news anchors pressing infectious disease experts on whether hantavirus would lead to another pandemic. Following that, he showed clips of those same experts consistently stating that the risk to the general public remains low.
Expert Opinions Dismissed
"Expert upon expert, scientist upon scientist, very transparently explained why this illness, while a serious illness, is a low-level public health threat. Their words went a long way to easing the concerns of a curious public. And Lord knows the news can't let that happen," Stewart remarked. He expressed particular frustration with media coverage of cruise passengers disembarking from a ship in Spain.
"The news experts say stay calm, but the news media says no, I believe we prefer panic," Stewart concluded.
