The Saudi Opinion on the Media Dealings with the COVID-19 Pandemic

(Lotfi Ziadi)

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Abstract

Our research sought to monitor, measure and analyze the opinions and positions of Saudi men and women regarding the use of traditional and electronic media and social networking sites during the COVID-19 pandemic. We surveyed 477 Saudi men and women via an electronic questionnaire. The results show that Saudi respondents have increased their exposure to traditional media and that their use of social media has been intensified due to the pandemic. It was found that Saudis use social media to search for news and information that would help them understand the nature of the pandemic, how it spread, and what must be done to avoid, prevent, and respond to it. It was also found that social networking sites are the first sources used by Saudis to obtain news, although they consider these sites more likely to spread rumors about the pandemic. In general, most of the respondents consider the media coverage of the pandemic successful and think that most forms of news media are honest and reassuring.


KEYWORDS
Corona, media, news, opinions, Saudi recipient, social media

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