Medical Treatments Broadcast on YouTube by a News Program in Peru: Perception of Those Affected by Covid-19

During the Covid-19 pandemic, citizens seeking treatment and palliative care were faced with over-information and the proliferation of “fake news” on social networks. This study documents the perception of Coronavirus patients or those who had family members who suffered from it about the medical treatments against this virus, disseminated by a news program broadcast on a YouTube channel in the city of Lima, Peru. This research is qualitative and the case study with a phenomenological approach was used. 20 people were interviewed. The data obtained indicate that the interviewees perceived the contents positively, as they presented appropriate health guidelines to face the context of the health crisis. The testimonies valued the fact that the media verified the content before sharing it on the YouTube platform, a space where they accessed such data, during the quarantine period. They also highlighted the ease of identification of the medium, through its graphic identity, which avoided access to similar channels. Finally, they estimated the image quality of the informational videos, as well as the duration time. The research showed that the interviewees maintain a positive perception of the content disseminated on the YouTube channel of the news program, since it fulfilled its journalistic purpose in a time of great uncertainty for the Peruvian citizen.