Implications
STRUCK
Although our articles did not affect intentions, they were successful in manipulating COVID-related threat and self-efficacy. Crucially, if a single article—amongst the media consumed daily—affects these appraisals, then it is worthwhile considering what the cumulative impact of exposure to alarmist articles may have over time. Whilst future research is needed to determine the impact of repeated threatening articles, our results suggest that more reassuring, yet still informative health messages, do not compromise intentions to adhere to mitigation measures and result in fewer COVID-related concerns. Although we cannot be sure that these intentions would translate into sustained adherence in the real world, it is clear that there is a difficult balance which must be struck between providing informative news and causing unnecessary fear.