This work was partially funded by the Dirección de Gestión de la Investigación at the PUCP, and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Tecnológica del Perú (CONCYTEC from its acronym in Spanish), according to the Convenio de Gestión N° 232-2015-FONDECYT. We would also like to thank to Dilmer Dueñas, who kindly participated as instructor in the workshops.

This study was partially funded by the Dirección de Gestión de la Investigación at Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Tecnológica del Perú (CONCYTEC from its acronym in Spanish), according to the Convenio de Gestión N° 232-2015-FONDECYT. We would also like to thank to Dilmer Dueñas, who kindly participated as instructor in the workshops

Introduction: The media play an important role in the dissemination of information on the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. However, it is important to measure whether the population is receiving information that calms it down, as well as whether such news are in accordance with the magnitude of the issue. Objective: To validate a questionnaire that measures the perception of the media and their informative role in the face of COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A validation process for a questionnaire that measures the perception of the magnitude of this issue and whether it generates fear was carried out. The validation was performed by means of a literature search. Moreover, a first version of the scale was developed, which was assessed by 30 experts (physicians, epidemiologists, among others). After this, an exploratory factor analysis and descriptive statistics were perfor...