Partly censorship, but I don’t mean it to sound as strong as it does. You’re going to get flagged on Youtube, Facebook or Twitter by algorithms intended to prevent profiting from the pandemic or misinforming people, but also tend to flag normal people. Some channels I watch will acknowledge it but are careful to avoid saying “Corona,” “Covid” or other similar terms, instead opting to say “pandemic” “virus” or “this situation” or other vague terms that make it clear, even medical channels that are explicitly making content about it.

In other forms of media, I think it’s to avoid being dated. If this pandemic is resolved globally by the end of the year, it’s still only two years out of a decade. Constant references to “The Pandemic,” “Covid-19” or other such things will result in your media being extremely dated in even fifteen years, unless it’s somehow related to your story. Sort of like bad comedy movies that make constant references to flash-in-the-pan celebrities who had their fifteen minutes of fame.

Everybody else also sort of hit it with not bringing the mood down, and even it being a divisive topic, at least in some countries, and obviously the fatigue that comes with dealing with a global crisis for what’s going to be at least a year and a half when it resolves.