Transparency in the Age of Uncertainty: The Communication Strategies of Icelandic and US Authorities During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This paper compares the communication strategies adopted by national authorities in Iceland and the United States during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (January–May 2020). The first wave was a critical point in the pandemic as the overall crisis responses were formalized during this period in both countries. Using qualitative content analysis of televised briefings, we examine how each country’s approach reflected guiding principles of effective crisis communication; transparency of the communication and to promote civic engagement of citizens in the government’s infection-control measures. Iceland largely followed an Expert Appointee Prominence Model, where health and civil protection experts led information briefings about the pandemic and politicians were usually not part of those briefings. This led to communication that was mostly transparent and clear. By contrast, the United States relied on a Politician Prominence Model, in which President Trump and other political figures were central to communication, often overshadowing or contradicting expert voices. While US briefings did include health experts, political framing and inconsistent messaging reduced transparency and credibility. Both countries sought to empower citizens and foster solidarity, but Iceland’s messaging was overall more consistent and community-centered, while US communication was marked by mixed signals and limited attention to diverse community needs. The results show that the Expert Appointee Prominence model, as followed in Iceland, was much more effective in communicating transparent information and to promote civic engagement than the Political Prominence Model used in the United States, where politicians took the lead.