Unit 2

            The Delta variant of the coronavirus is providing great difficulty not only to Americans but to news outlets as well. Dr. Anthony Fauci made a speech in July 2021 on CNN’s “State of the Union” about the new virus detailing his predictions as well as recommendations for vaccines and masks. In three articles from AP News, CNN, and Fox News, the contexts of Fauci’s CNN “State of the Union” speech are dissected in varying degrees. While AP News and CNN take more objective and straightforward stances, the Fox News article provides nuanced information and context that suggests a shift in the news outlet’s opinion.
            There is a clear contrast in the central themes of the AP News and CNN articles and the Fox News article noted through the word choice in each headline. AP News employs the headline “Fauci says US headed in ‘wrong direction’ on coronavirus,” taking a neutral stance using a direct quote in the same way it is seen in the speech. CNN provides a similar headline of “Fauci: 'We're going in the wrong direction' on Covid-19 cases,” which does much of what the AP News headline does, except adds a bit of nuance by including the word we. By adding this pronoun, it makes the argument slightly more personal to loyal readers of the news outlet, and also fosters a feeling of an “us versus them” narrative. This is a possible result of the outlet’s left-leaning views that promote vaccination and stricter protocols and look down on the Republican freedom-of-choice attitude for the virus. Both the AP News article and the CNN article go on to mention unvaccinated Americans in order to suggest they are among the causes of the rise in cases. The headline for Fox News reads “Fauci says virus has ‘peaked’ for the vaccinated: ‘We have two kinds of America’,” explicitly stating the type of divide that CNN alludes to by using the word we as well as suggesting that the virus is splitting the country into two. This type of figurative language evokes a feeling of distrust and is reminiscent of the type of division seen in American politics over the past few years. Fox also diverges from the other articles by singling out vaccinated Americans in the headline. This subtle phrasing gives the impression that vaccinated people are more dangerous because their cases are “‘peaking’.”
            The three articles use relatively similar language to relay the information at hand. One notable difference is the description of the new Delta variant. AP News uses the adjective “virulent,” taking an impartial stance based more on science while providing hints of severity through the connotation of the word (“Fauci Says US Headed”). The power in this word comes from its objectivity—a disease can either be virulent or not, and there is no disputing where the Delta variant stands on this given the recent statistics. CNN employs the more emotionally charged word “dangerous,” which calls for vigilance and provokes fear (Duster). By keeping its followers on high alert, the news outlet is able to carry out its goal of convincing more people to take preventative steps. Alternatively, Fox News characterizes the variant as “more severe,” an unassuming word choice to those outside of the outlet’s readership (Aitken). This word choice actually serves to emphasize the difference in magnitude of the delta variant as compared to the original Covid-19 virus that the Trump administration dealt with. These slight variances in language provide insight into each source’s motive and perspective.
   The Fox News article uses deliberate word choices to further express its bias against the Biden administration. Biden’s words are scrutinized, as the article states that he “tout[ed]” that the virus statistics were indicating a decline (Aitken). This word is very pointed and serves to paint Biden as wielding a degree of power that he is not capable of. This word implies that Biden is overconfident in his stance on the virus and that the actions he is taking are not enough. His claim of decreasing cases was directly countered by including Fauci’s assertion that cases are declining but only in the vaccinated population in the same sentence (Aitken). Challenging Biden’s words here suggests that he is spreading misinformation and unfit to deal with a crisis of this scale. It also suggests that Biden may be responsible for the rift between Americans as this insinuates that he was responsible for Americans recently putting their guard down and deciding not to get vaccinated. This sentence also takes the side of Fauci and uses his word as hard truth, which is something the news outlet has not been eager to do over the past year.
            At the beginning of the pandemic, Fox News sided with Donald Trump and downplayed the severity of the virus to promote the idea that Trump had control over the situation. Now, they are emphasizing its severity and encouraging people to take necessary precautions. There has been a shift of focusing on Covid-19 and more on the Delta variant and attempting to paint the variant as deadly instead. In fact, Fox News host Sean Hannity made a statement in mid-July asking viewers to take Covid seriously and supporting vaccines efficacy after downplaying its severity in the past (Rupar). All of this is in an effort to shift any blame from Fox News (for discouraging its viewers from vaccinating) and onto Fauci and Biden’s administration (Rupar).
            Over the course of the past year, the Covid-19 pandemic has morphed into more of a political debate rather than a public health issue. Republicans and Democrats have taken strikingly different stances on the virus, masks, federal and local regulations, and vaccine rollout. However, as things began to change in 2021—with the Biden administration taking over, vaccines being put on the market, and the new Delta variant of the virus—some media coverage began to mirror this shift. Specifically, Fox News is now painting the virus as more deadly and pointing out the flaws in Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Biden administration’s approach.