Stories about viral apocalypse are not new. Some of our oldest narratives play with the gloomy fantasy, and it has become a spectacle of contemporary Hollywood productions like 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Resident Evil, The Walking Dead, and Shaun of the Dead.

The way we talk about contagions and diseases says a lot about what we value and how we see the world. When news networks cover COVID-19 by focusing on fear-based scenarios and blame game politics, they cater to viewers who might otherwise tune out if they covered the story some other way. In the 21st Century, "covering the story" has come to include making the story into a spectacle.

As the old adage goes, "if it bleeds, it leads."

Dr. Lisa Keränen has been studying the way humans talk about viral apocalypse for more than a decade, and she had published numerous articles, chapters, and is working on an upcoming book about what she called the rhetoric of contagion. I recommend Dr. Keränen's lecture on Morgellons Disease. You can also check out some of here research here:
"Concocting Viral Apocalypse: Catastrophic Risk and the Production of Bio(in)security"
" Biosecurity and Communication" in The Handbook of Communication and Security

She is also working on her book called Envisioning Viral Apocalypse: Biosecurity Rhetoric, Risk, and Resilience from Anthrax to Covid, so keep an eye out for that.

To read about Ben Franklin's Fake News campaigns, check out this Washington Post article, "Fake News? That's a Very Old Story" 

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