The rhetoric of Covid-19 : numbers and stats and maps – oh my

Abstract

From February 2020, media coverage surrounding the spread of Covid-19 (acronym for the coronavirus disease of 2019) accelerated to the point where it has become the most exhaustively covered pandemic in recent times. In particular, numerous information visualisations surrounding the extent of the disease were released. One reason for such acceleration may be that, in an increasingly digital world, growth in media coverage is inevitable. However, when compared to the concurrent Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) pandemic, which has a significantly higher fatality rate, coverage surrounding Covid-19 has been inordinately more expansive. One key difference between the two pandemics is that Covid-19 spreads more rapidly. In this article, the author examines the rhetorical potency of information visualisation as a means of visually expressing the spread of Covid-19. He comments on the efficiency and clarity with which information visualisation distils content surrounding the pandemic. Further, the author delineates rhetorical agents that arouse fear and urgency in depicting the concept of the “spread” of Covdid-19 in a palpable way.