AMA JOURNAL OF ETHICS – 20/04/2020
Katherina Thomas and Alpha Daffae Senkpeni
Journalists have long covered outbreaks of infectious disease. In the history of global health journalism—from the 1721 Boston smallpox epidemic to the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak in China and Singapore and to recent outbreaks of Ebola in West Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—newsrooms have wielded their power both responsibly and irresponsibly. This article examines journalism practice during the 2013-2016 Ebola epidemic and recommends strategies for improving epidemic reporting.