Quality of online media reporting of suicidal behaviour in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic – in reference to World Health Organization guidelines

Abstract

Objective: Mass media has diverse effects on suicidal behaviour and has a significant impact on framing prevention strategies for the general population. However, the quality of news reporting of suicide has not been assessed in Iran adequately specially during the COVID-19 pandemic. AIM: The study aimed to evaluate the quality of online news reporting of suicidal behaviour in Iran against the World Health Organization (WHO) suicide reporting guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: We analysed the news reports to recognise the reporting characteristics and compared them with the WHO guidelines. A search was carried out in March and April 2021 on Google using the term “suicide news in Iran” and online news stories published in the Farsi language from January to December 2020, were extracted. Results: A total of 125 Farsi news reports was retrieved from 13 newspapers. Among the reports, 50 (40%) mentioned the name, and 62 (49.6%) mentioned the occupation of the deceased. The name of the method was mentioned in 111 reports (88.9%), monocausality was reported in 49 reports (39.2%), the word “suicide” was mentioned in the headline in 117 reports (93.6%), a method was reported in the headline in 34 reports (27.2%), and 32 reports (25.6%) published the photo of the deceased. Only four reports (3.2%) mentioned psychiatric disorders, 13 (10.4%) disseminated expert opinion, and none of the reports cited prevention programmes, helpful contact identity or education material. Conclusion: The study showed that the Farsi news reports were not firmly compliant with WHO guidelines for reporting suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further studies are warranted considering these findings to change into accountable media reporting and to shape the prevention strategies.