ABSTRACT
Although the most reliable among sources of information is undoubtedly the government and its institutions, it has been observed in world history that governance systems developed for the public in the face of a pandemic are generally flawed, inadequate and chaotic in their functioning. This study aims to explore the role of communication the Turkish government has played during the COVID-19 crisis and how it has affected the information search behaviours of the public. Other related topics investigated in this study include the information-seeking behaviour of the Turkish public in their perception of COVID-19 and the effect of the news received from the media. This research was conducted between 1 October and 1 November 2020. A total of 513 Turkish individuals participated in the survey. The results showed that the individuals preferred to use social media as a source of information over traditional media. Furthermore, we discovered that the Turkish public is sceptical about the pandemic news received from the government compared to other channels. Although the perception regarding the withholding of reality by the government is high, the participants rely more on the health professionals they know personally or on the respected and well-known health specialists, if compared to the government and health institutions. The results show that there is a need for the Turkish government to present comprehensive and strategic government communication during pandemic crises.
