The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic brought many consequences for the physical and mental health of people. Fear and uncertainty have led people to follow daily news about the virus through different media. On the other hand, the way media conveys information in the news has proven to be a significant factor that affects human behaviour, perception and emotions, regardless of whether it is verified or false information. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate in which ways news about COVID-19 was presented on the news portals in Croatia during the first year of the pandemic, and to analyse the credibility of information in news. Additional aim was to gain insight into the use of frames that could evoke different emotions about the disease. Articles from the four most visited general news portals were analysed: dnevnik.hr, vecernji.hr, net.hr and tportal.hr. Using thematic analysis, we identified frames related to COVID-19 on the news portals in question. The results showed that news about COVID-19 emphasized certain aspects of the pandemic such as vaccination, uncertainty, attribution of responsibility and contradictions in scientific knowledge. Furthermore, the news highlighted the emotion of fear, while little was said about positive emotions, such as hope. The analysed news articles, with the exception of net.hr, were mostly credible in reporting, and the biggest problem with credibility was the formation of the headlines to attract the attention of readers. In conclusion, we can say that news portals tried to convey as much information as possible about COVID-19, regardless of its accuracy, and present the disease as a threat to the former way of living and to human existence itself.