Militarization in British Press During the Pandemic

Maria V. Derkacheva

doi:10.17323/cmd.2025.30477

Maria V. Derkacheva Lomonosov Moscow State University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17323/cmd.2025.30477

Keywords: pandemic, COVID, British press, content analysis, militarization, coronavirus, World War Two, vicarious identification

Abstract

In this work, we focus on the language used in the press during the COVID-19 health crisis, using Great Britain as an example. Through content analysis, we examine a sample of three popular British newspapers to identify the use of military language, paying special attention to references to World War II. We trace how the target language has changed over four crucial periods within the two-year pandemic, using our custom database of 9118 articles with the words "covid" and "coronavirus" in headlines. Our findings show that the militarization of language in newspapers with links to World War II (vicarious militarization) reduces negative vocabulary and creates an upbeat tone for media discourse. Additionally, our study confirms that references to heroic feats from World War II are an effective tool for reducing anxiety, although this effect is short-lived.

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Author Biography

Maria V. Derkacheva, Lomonosov Moscow State University

Lecturer at the Department of Journalism

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