The Role of Social Amplification of the Information in Shaping Public Perception and Response to the Risks of “Coronavirus”

The study adopts the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF) to analyse social communication processes during the Corona pandemic, and its relationship to the structural and dynamics of the relationship between individual and societal systems related to the production and exchange of risk information.
 
The field study was based on a survey of a representative sample of 400 individuals selected in multi-stages stratified sampling and was conducted during April 2021 to identify the role of information amplification stations in exaggerating or attenuating information related to the “Coronavirus”, and the impact of this on the public’s perceptions of risks on self and society and compliance with preventive measures to avoid risks.
 
Results point out that 42.1% of the respondents believe that there is a social amplification of information. The media came at the forefront of social stations that the public sees as exaggerating the risks associated with the "Corona" virus. The study also points out that the controversy and difference between information production and circulation stations leads to polarization that results in amplification (exaggeration or attenuation) of information, which indicates that different groups believe that some of them either exaggerate or mitigate risks.
 
 
The results of this study are in agreement with the results of previous studies that confirm that subjective factors (self-assessment, balance between economic and health risks, personal experiences, social and cultural factors), and the variables assumed by the framework of Social Amplification of Risks (information conflict - information density, level of confidence in social stations) determine the public's compliance with measures that preserve public health and reduce the negative impacts of risks.