Masklighting: a genre of COVID journalism mixing activism with reporting that admits wearing a mask can feel
like suffocating but says don’t worry about it.
The term comes from a combination of two terms: 1) gaslighting (denying someone else's
reality) and 2) muckraking (a genre of
activist journalism).
Example 1 of masklighting:
Person 1: Hey, I feel really dizzy wearing this mask inside, especially when needing to talk a lot at
work.
Anti-vaxxer/masker friend: Dude yeah, I feel you, and guess what...all these health journalists online are just saying that discomfort is only a "feeling" and not to worry about it. It's called masklighting
Such shills.
Person 1: Wait.. I thought health journalists acknowledged that feelings are not made up but are actually rooted in the body. Not sure i believe you haha seems like you have misinformation
Anti-xaxxer/masker: Haha, here's my
liberal buddy just trusting the Media again... Here look: *pulls out iPhone and shows excerpt from health article*
"If it feels
like your mask is making it harder to breathe, you’re not alone. Face mask 'air hunger '— the feeling that you can’t get enough
air is a common sensation, often exacerbated by anxiety and stress. And while it
may be a scary and uncomfortable feeling, the experts say that’s all it is, a feeling."
Person 1: Damn, guess it's all in my
head then.
Example 2 of masklighting:
Person 2: Hey im all good with wearing these masks to help out
society, but they're really uncomfortable to wear, let me do some research online from a credible source and see if that's just me.
Health journalist: "Many
people report that wearing a mask can feeling
like suffocation, but doctors say it's all in the
head"
Person 2: Ah right right. I will mentally fix this tomorrow.
