Last year, who would have thought that a flu-like pandemic could kill more than 1 million people, infect more than 34 million and drive tens of millions of people to unemployment. The last time the world saw this kind of plague was more than a century ago during the Spanish flu pandemic.

And as if the pandemic was not bad enough, it strikes at the worst time possible, when even in the world's most developed nations, politics has gone south. Everywhere we look, when democracy is regressing, populism is rising and political polarization is running high.

In most countries, COVID-19 only serves to aggravate some of the political problems and its consequences could be dire. In places where populist leaders are in charge, their disregard of science has allowed for haphazard measures to deal with the pandemic leading to a surge in cases and deaths.

In some places, some of these political leaders go even further by peddling false information about the coronavirus. Even on issues that scientists and public health experts have already come to a consensus about, such as wearing masks, people still have differing views based on their political beliefs.

Also, in countries where the government just wants to look good on paper, some actively suppress information regarding the severity of the pandemic.

Against this backdrop, the role of the media is more important than ever. With so much disinformation and so much effort made to control the flow of information, journalism continues to play a crucial role to inform and enlighten the public. Democracy can only work when the public is educated, and now this democracy can save us from a pandemic.

Popular

Not the Ministry of Magic

PISA gains belie Indonesia’s persistent education crisis

Suahasil seen to prioritize fiscal discipline, continuity