A multi-disciplinary exploration of the press review of the Italian National Institute of Health during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study examines how Italian national newspapers portrayed COVID-19 vaccines during 2020–2021. A corpus of 5,621 articles from seven newspapers, collected via the Italian National Institute of Health’s daily press review, was analyzed with SketchEngine using corpus-assisted discourse methods. Quantitative analysis showed a rise in vaccine-related coverage at the end of 2020 and throughout 2021. Core terms such as vaccino (vaccine) and vaccinazione (vaccination) were frequent, while occasional use of synonyms like serum and antidote risked creating confusion. Qualitative analysis revealed instances of “false balance,” where anti-vaccine views were presented alongside pro-vaccine perspectives as if equally supported by evidence. These findings suggest that even authoritative outlets reproduced reporting practices that may undermine public understanding of vaccines. Greater awareness of such practices, and closer collaboration between health professionals and communication experts, could help improve the quality of health information in the media.