Abstract
Health stories in the news have sometimes been spectacularly misleading and even had serious long term consequences, such as with the infamous case of MMR in the UK in 1998 which caused a drop in vaccination uptake from 92% to 80% that is still climbing back up. Thankfully many medical experts now take it upon themselves to engage with journalists in an attempt to ensure the most accurate coverage possible. There are still many examples of misrepresented studies and overblown claims, but the situation has greatly improved as this greater effort by health professionals has coincided with a rise in prominence of specialist science and health journalists. There is still a long way to go, particularly during times of crisis when the media frenzy is most prone to sensationalism. A common belief is that in times of crisis a single spokesperson is the best way of handling the media, however, I will argue that when news stories break a single voice is not enough, what is needed is simply a single message.
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