When the Analogy Breaks

What is it about?

At the outbreak of the Corona-pandemic, Flemish media used a lot of history to explain what was going on. This research reveals how often three of the most important Flemish news outlets referred to the past. It also shows which past events were the most important points of comparison at the beginning of the crisis. Lastly, the article also shows that history most often served to reassure the public. Especially the SARS-epidemic of 2002-2003 was mentioned in this regard, with many articles arguing that SARS would remain to be worse than COVID-19. Ultimately, such reassuring comparisons with history proved to be a mistake, and one which is better avoided in the future.

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