Since the Covid-19 pandemic started back in 2020, society has seen many changes in everyday life as a result. From lockdowns, to mask mandates, to online school, people in the United States have struggled through the past four years, and things are finally getting back to a normal way of life. As a result of the Covid-19 virus, health professionals and scientists have designed a vaccine to combat the spread. Since the creation of the vaccine, Covid precautions and mandates have continued to slow down, although some people do not give that credit to the vaccine. Few residents of the United States country wide are against these vaccines, whether it’s for health reasons, religious reasons, or because of conspiracy theories. Over recent years, there have been specific athletes with large platforms who have stated their skeptical opinions publicly regarding the Covid-19 vaccine, and their reasoning behind their negative ideology. These athletes who were opposed to the Covid-19 vaccine include NFL star Aaron Rodgers, NBA star Kyrie Irving, and famous tennis player Novak Djokovic. The opinions of these athletes have been noteworthy over the years because of the type of fame and spotlight they bring to their particular sport, and the way that media has portrayed the statements made by players to the general public. Through news media sources, I will be looking to see if the opinions of these specific athletes regarding the Covid-19 vaccine are supported or opposed due to the political standing of specific news sources, to analyze any bias shown. Although all citizens have the right to free speech, athletes specifically have been criticized due to their verbal disbelief of the effectiveness of the vaccine and the platform they hold in the media.
What is the effect of political bias on portrayals of athletes’ anti-vaccine sentiments in news media sources?
Throughout my research, I will be asking the question: What is the effect of political bias on portrayals of athletes’ anti-vaccine sentiments in news media sources? The independent variable of this study will be political bias, looking at the way that media sources lean towards a certain side of politics. News sources are notorious for being partially left (liberal) or partially right (conservative), so determining which side they stand through key words and tone of the article will help show their bias. In order to figure out which side of politics specific media sources stood, I used allsides.com’s media bias chart, which had five sections. Those five sections were left, lean left, neutral, lean right, and right. This chart was the main identifier of where news sources stood politically, which is what framed my research. The dependent variable will be the portrayal of athletes’ anti-vaccine sentiments. This will be shown by how the athletes and their public messages are framed by the media, and the unit of analysis will be news media sources, and how these news outlets cover the topic. I will be determining if news media sources’ political stance has any relationship with how they portray athletes who publicly deny Covid-19 vaccines.