(Un)certainty and risk communication on COVID-19 vaccines: A comparison between civilian and military discourse.

This article examines the contrasting linguistic and discursive strategies used by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in communicating risks and uncertainties related to COVID-19 vaccines. The DoD employs a militaristic "natural objectivism" framework characterized by authoritative, standardized, and confidence-driven messaging aimed primarily at a trained military audience, with limited public transparency. In contrast, the WHO adopts a "cultural relativism" approach that emphasizes transparency, inclusivity, storytelling, and acknowledgment of uncertainty to engage a diverse, global nonexpert audience. The study suggests that effective risk communication during health emergencies could benefit from a convergence of these approaches, balancing authoritative expertise and operational readiness with openness, individual engagement, and cultural sensitivity.