NSF Org:	SMA SBE Off Of Multidisciplinary Activities
Recipient:	GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY (THE)
Initial Amendment Date:	April 27, 2022
Latest Amendment Date:	April 27, 2022
Award Number:	2223914
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Antwan Jones aajones@nsf.gov  (703)292-4973 SMA  SBE Off Of Multidisciplinary Activities SBE  Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie
Start Date:	May 1, 2022
End Date:	October 31, 2024 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$199,516.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$199,516.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2022 = $199,516.00
History of Investigator:	Marlene Laruelle (Principal Investigator) laruelle@gwu.edu Daniel Hallin (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	George Washington University 1918 F ST NW WASHINGTON DC  US  20052-0042 (202)994-0728
Sponsor Congressional District:	00
Primary Place of Performance:	The George Washington University 1922 F Street NW, 4th Floor Washington DC  US  20052-0042
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	00
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	ECR5E2LU5BL6
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	T-AP-Trans-Atlantic Platform
Primary Program Source:	01002223DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s):	5294
Program Element Code(s):	188Y00
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.075

ABSTRACT

This project uses several methods to study how populist politicians distorted COVID-19 pandemic health communication to encourage polarized attitudes and distrust among citizens, thus making them more vulnerable to misinformation generally. It also studies how best to counter these populist narratives and develop more effective communication channels. The research studies four areas of communication: government led pandemic communication, media policy, media coverage, and public attitudes towards the media. The project makes an important contribution to research on populist communication and political polarization by bringing two fields of expertise?populist communication and public health?together. The research will inform recommendations aimed at building more resilient media organizations that are better equipped to withstand the challenges of future pandemics in divided societies. By helping to improve the quality of health communication, this research will help to improve the health, hence living standards of US citizens.

This project will develop the first comprehensive, comparative study of health crisis communication in the context of populist politics and examines the impact of populism on four aspects of the pandemic communication circuit during COVID-19: government-led health crisis communication, media policy, media coverage, and public attitudes. The project will also study how best to counter these populist narratives and develop more efficient and reliable communication. The focus is on four countries---Brazil, Poland, Serbia, and the US---all led by populist leaders during the pandemic and capture different types of populist responses to the pandemic. The project also takes a transnational perspective to analyze how the interaction between populism and pandemic communication was shaped by China and Russia?s pandemic geopolitics. By helping to improve the quality of health communication, this research will help to improve the health, hence living standards of US citizens.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.