Tilman Pietsch is Professor of Social, Organizational and Economic Psychology at the University of Erfurt in Thuringia. He is the first speaker in the hearing called by the German Parliament's investigation committee into the Corona pandemic, in which experts from academia and the media participated. Each parliamentary bloc was allowed to appoint experts to represent it.
Psychologist Beach begins his review of the pandemic with an ironic note: He is glad he does not live in a country whose president recommends the use of disinfectants as a treatment for the coronavirus.
“When I get sick, I ask my doctor.”
Beach refers to US President Donald Trump, who during his first term at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 advised taking extreme measures such as injecting disinfectants. After severe criticism, Trump backed down and wanted his advice to be understood as sarcasm. In Germany, they listened to the scientists, as expert Beach expresses his happiness.
“When my car breaks down, I consult an auto mechanic, and when I get sick, I consult my doctor,” Beach confirms. But he then moves to his first point of criticism: during the Corona pandemic, the lines between the role of science and the role of politics have often been blurred: “Politicians have delegated responsibility to scientists.”
The scientist from Erfurt also criticizes the handling of the pandemic as disorganized. That is why important aspects have been neglected: “the socialization of our children, education, economics, etc.” Beach's advice to politicians on future crises: Set goals, communicate them, adjust them when needed, and justify decisions. As for science, it must say out loud what the truth is. “But without exercising moral or normative influence.”
How meaningful are abstract numbers and statistics?
Journalist and media scholar Michael Mayne defends the hypothesis that the “leading media” supported and pushed a policy that was aimed at achieving a high willingness to be vaccinated in the population. He accused him, saying: “They have stoked fear and delegitimized suspicions and protests.”
With this general description, the professor of communication sciences stands alone. Critics have accused him for years of spreading conspiracy theories and the ideas of Corona pandemic deniers. Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Bavaria, where Mayne taught for 24 years, has referred him for early retirement in March 2026.
In his written statement on the role of the media in the Corona pandemic, he criticizes the failure to subject numbers and statistics to scrutiny. Mayne cites, as examples, the capacity of intensive care beds in hospitals, their occupancy rates, the spread of airborne particles, or the minimum distance that should be maintained between people.
More context: "How many people die from the flu?"
Communication scientist Markus Maurer of the University of Mainz also wished for more context in media coverage of the pandemic: “Every day we read about how many people have died from the coronavirus. But we rarely get any comparative figures: How many people die from influenza? How many people die from lung cancer? If that were available, it would be possible to understand all this better.”
Maurer also points out a problem he sees as structural: what happens when the media suddenly has to deal with a complex topic like the coronavirus. Many newsrooms lack time and sometimes experience. This leads to a greater reliance than usual on information coming from the scientific and political circles. Bottom line: “The media in this pandemic were mostly on the ‘caution team.’ They were in favor of taking drastic measures.”
Were the media really loyal to the government?
At the same time, the expert from Mainz rejects the claim that the media coverage was pro-government, saying: “On the contrary, all officials and bodies were subjected to severe criticism. The longer the pandemic lasted, the more intense the criticism directed at them became, because they did not seem to be able to find a solution.” Maurer sees this as a paradoxical situation: “The media called for action, but the government rejected it.”
Sociologist Peter Weingart taught at Bielefeld University until his retirement. He believes that the strict measures that sparked widespread controversy, most notably the complete lockdown, were correct. However, he believes that the error lies in the almost complete absence or delay in seeking specialized expertise from fields outside the scope of medicine in its broadest sense. His conclusion is: “The subsequent regret of closing schools early would likely have been avoided.”
“Not every virologist is an expert on the Corona virus.”
The question of who speaks, when and about what topic is also of great importance to science journalist Corinna Henning from Radio North Germany. They attach great importance to the selection of experts with whom they speak and consider experience a decisive factor. Frankly: “Not every virologist is an expert on the Corona virus.”
The lessons Henning draws from the interaction between science communication and the media are varied. The first is transparency: “We must repeatedly explain how we arrive at scientific results.” But the degree of uncertainty must also be disclosed.
Call: Do not insult opponents of vaccination, and do not insult politicians
The emergence of fears and doubts on social media can be identified at an early stage, Henning says. “It is our duty, as female journalists and in the field of science communication, to make discussions more objective by relying on specialized knowledge, to correct misinformation, and to provide the public with sufficient knowledge to make an informed individual decision.”
There is one point on which everyone agrees at the hearing of the German Parliament's coronavirus investigative committee: communication between politicians, the media and the scientific community must be improved. Markus Maurer of Mainz University sums it up this way: There are good reasons for people to refuse to receive the vaccine. “In this case, insults should not be directed at them.”
But he also believes that many politicians tried to help society overcome this difficult crisis. “They should also not be insulted and described as ‘Corona dictators,’” the media expert hopes. “If we learn a lesson from that, we will definitely manage it great next time.”
Prepared in Arabic by: M.A.M
