I recently reported on a study by researchers from Dartmouth College and Brown University that revealed how America’s mainstream media spread fear about the pandemic by focussing on the negative news and downplaying any good news.

In his post on the study, Brian McGlinchey shared an example of how CNN did exactly that:

“In June, CNN served up a particularly flagrant example of Covid scaremongering: an article titled “Healthy teenager who took precautions died suddenly of Covid-19.”

The many who skimmed the headline received an anecdotal infusion of fearful misinformation. The minority who made it to the tenth paragraph would finally learn that doctors treating the purportedly “healthy” yet visibly obese teen found he had Type 1 diabetes with a blood sugar level 10 times the norm.

Two months earlier, the Centers for Disease Control announced that about 90% of those hospitalized with the virus had one or more underlying conditions. Among the most common were obesity (48%) and diabetes (28%). Rather than using this teen’s grim story to enlighten the public about who is at greatest risk, CNN aggressively pushed a perception that nobody is safe.”

“When predicted surges don’t happen, the media gives little attention to the happy news that their alarms proved false. Instead, they’re apparently hard at work drafting warnings about whatever’s next on the calendar.”

READ: Study: U.S. Media’s Covid Coverage Slants Heavily Negative

A new @nberpubs paper shows how US media created a climate of #COVID19 fear.

“Ninety one percent of stories by US major media outlets are negative in tone versus fifty four percent for non-U.S. major sources and sixty five percent for scientific journals,” the authors concluded. pic.twitter.com/wIXRQYiuKw

— Jon Miltimore (@miltimore79) December 1, 2020

More fake news at CNN? RELATED: Swift backlash hits CNN after outlet says murdered Uber Eats driver died in ‘accident’

Of course, while that was going on, health officials were finding innovative ways to increase the COVID numbers.

READ: What IS the truth about Covid deaths? Grieving relatives along with MPs and top medics demand inquiry as families reveal MORE loved ones they believe were wrongly certified as virus victims

READ: THIRD of UK Covid victims in July and August ‘died from OTHER causes’ – including cancer or being hit by a car – Oxford University scientists reveal

READ: BEL MOONEY: My dad Ted passed three Covid tests and died of a chronic illness yet he’s officially one of Britain’s 120,000 victims of the virus and is far from alone… so how many more are there?

READ: Florida man in his 20s listed among COVID-19 fatalities — but health officer says he died in motorcycle crash AND FOX 35 INVESTIGATES: Questions raised after fatal motorcycle crash listed as COVID-19 death

READ: Florida department of health exposed for massively overreporting positive COVID-19 cases

READ: Man died of alcohol poisoning — but health officials later classified his death as coronavirus related

READ: Gunshot Wound Victims Included In Colorado County’s Covid-Related Death Totals, Report

READ: A 60-year-old man died from a gunshot wound to his head. He was listed as a COVID-19 death in Florida — and there are several more

READ: Oregon’s youngest COVID-19 victim did not actually have the virus, according to CDC test

READ: NYC Adds Nearly 4,000 People Who Never Tested Positive To Coronavirus Death Tolls

READ: Ohio Health Departments Will Now Include People It Suspects Of Having Coronavirus In Official Count

They say the first victim of any war is the truth.