The 1918 pandemic caused by the flu influenza, also known as Spanish flu, led to the death of more than 50 million people worldwide and was believed to be one of the tremendous diseases in the history of humanity. Many reports, books, and articles were published to shed the light on this terrible past event. In this report, there will be a comparison of three different sources that are also concerned with the 1918 influenza pandemic. The first paper, called “The Deadliest Flu: The Complete Story of the Discovery and Reconstruction of the 1918 Pandemic Virus”1, was published on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website by Douglas Jordan. This work tells the story behind the investigation made by various researchers, who tried to reconstruct the Spanish flu virus, what kind of discoveries they made, and how it can help prevent future pandemics. The second work by Harry Howard for Daily Mail Online is called “Spanish flu ‘lockdown’ of 1918: Schools closed, buses and trains cancelled and the PM struck down”2. It is mainly concerned with comparing the events of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic with what was going on during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2021. Finally, the last publication, “Why historians ignored the Spanish Flu,”3 by Mark Honigsbaum in the Conversation, considers why the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic did not get much attention from the media despite its deadly consequences.
First of all, where the works were published is an important determiner of the credibility of the sources. The first paper was published on the official website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is an official science-based and data-driven national organization that works to protect humans’ lives. This organization is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Thus, the credibility of the source at this point can be verified. One of two remaining sources is Daily Mail Online, the English newspaper website, and the second one is The Conversation. This online platform represents the publications of academics and journalists working together. The articles published in the Conversation are believed to be more credible as they are written in collaboration with academics. In contrast, the fact-checking process in newspaper websites is not science-driven and data-based.
Moreover, the authors can also support or undermine the credibility of the source. The first paper was written by Douglas Jordan, a health communication specialist at CDC, with the help of Dr. Terrence Tumpey and Barbara Jester. The fact that specialists wrote the article supports the work’s credibility. In addition, the paper includes a wide range of academic references and authors that makes the reader trust this source and use it in the literary work4. On the other hand, the second article is written down by a history correspondent who does not have any background in the study of history.
Along with this, the author did not provide any evidence to support his claims in the article apart from the images taken during the 1918 pandemic and the coronavirus pandemic of 20215. All of these facts undermine the credibility of the source and may put the quality of the paper under consideration. The third article was written by Mark Honigsbaum, a medical historian and journalist whose main sphere of interest is the history and science of infectious diseases. His book, The Pandemic Century: One Hundred Years of Panic, Hysteria, and Hubris, was believed to be among the best books by the Financial Times. As the author is qualified enough in the sphere of history and medicine, his work can distinguish with its credibility and be used in other academic works.
Another essential component of the source is what kind of goal is behind the work and the topic’s relevance to the public. The first paper is written academically and aims to reveal the research findings about the influenza flu virus. According to the author, the main intention of his work is to chronicle the research on this viral disease and mark its importance for the prevention and fight against other future pandemic threats6. In this context, the main audience of this work is primarily academics as well as people interested in the research of the Spanish flu virus. Nevertheless, the research topic is significant for both the academic and general public as it represents what challenges are still posed by future pandemics and what humanity can do to prevent them.
On the other hand, the second and third articles do not have any academic interest behind their works. While the second article compares events that happened during the 1918 and 2021 pandemics, taking the case of Britain as an example, the third article is more interested in why the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic did not receive deserved attention from the media. Both of these works do not contain a piece of valuable information and may not be interesting to the general or academic audience. In case of the biasedness of all of the abovementioned articles, there is no evidence that the authors were partial to the topic of their works; thus, the conclusions in each of the works were not prejudiced.
To sum up, even though the topics of all three articles are about the events during and after the 1918 pandemic, their authors pay attention to the different aspects and utilize different approaches. Whereas the first article is distinguished with its academic approach, using evidence-based story-telling techniques and trying to conclude the data, the second and third articles are written in journalistic works that did not contain any important and beneficial information for the general public.
Bibliography
Honigsbaum, Mark. “Why Historians Ignored the Spanish Flu.” The Conversation. Web.
Howard, Harry. “Spanish flu ‘lockdown’ of 1918: Schools closed, buses and trains cancelled and the PM struck down.” Daily Mail Online. Web.
Jordan, Douglas. “The Deadliest Flu: The Complete Story of the Discovery and Reconstruction of the 1918 Pandemic Virus.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web.
Footnotes
- Jordan Douglas, “The Deadliest Flu: The Complete Story of the Discovery and Reconstruction of the 1918 Pandemic Virus,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web.
- Harry Howard, “Spanish Flu ‘lockdown’ of 1918: Schools Closed and PM Struck Down,” Daily Mail Online. Web.
- Mark Honigsbaum, “Why Historians Ignored the Spanish Flu,” The Conversation. Web.
- Jordan Douglas, “The Deadliest Flu: The Complete Story of the Discovery and Reconstruction of the 1918 Pandemic Virus,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web.
- Harry Howard, “Spanish Flu ‘lockdown’ of 1918: Schools Closed and PM Struck Down,” Daily Mail Online. Web.
- Jordan Douglas, “The Deadliest Flu: The Complete Story of the Discovery and Reconstruction of the 1918 Pandemic Virus,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web.