Looking back on media reports on the nuclear accident

Abstract

The accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake received considerable media coverage. However, a leaning towards sensationalism and a proclivity for denouncing those in power resulted in articles that were, in several instances, scientifically inaccurate, causing anxiety among disaster victims and delaying recovery efforts. Individuals working for the local media in Fukushima had the task of reporting the disaster while being victims of the disaster at the same time. Therefore, many individuals studied and deepened their knowledge about radiation and its effects, and were pained to see inaccurate media coverage of the disaster. Should they have been more forthright in opposing such false media coverage?