A Viral Virus

ISHAN VAISH – Whispers of the coronavirus started circulating online in early January. It appeared to be a mysterious disease localized in the Wuhan region of China. Most people treated it as an average news story and ignored it. However, within a week, fear of the virus seemed to have consumed media coverage. People all over the world were bombarded with news on the disease that was being likened to a world-ending epidemic. Though the infection is lethal, social media transformed healthy awareness of the disease into global hysteria. 

When news of the virus first broke, Chinese media laws prevented accurate reporting of the scale of the disease. Consequently, when Dr. Zhong Nansha, the same doctor who broke the news of the SARS infection, appeared on live television to explain the actual severity of the infection, the Chinese people began to panic. Many of them turned to social media to express their frustrations and concerns, but slowly, it became apparent people were spreading false information. Because a significant portion of the Chinese government was still processing how to deal with the infection in the first place, these social media posts were not taken down and instead shared hundreds if not thousands of times. 

It was during this period that news started spreading to other countries. In what the World Health Organization dubbed an “infodemic,” people all over the world started seeing posts with information regarding the coronavirus. Instead of turning to reliable news sources like the CDC or the WHO, people turned to Twitter where the coronavirus had become the subject matter of numerous memes and jokes. Though intended to make light of the situation, these posts convinced many that their lives were in danger. Websites like Amazon saw a surge in the number of people globally buying gloves and face masks. In parts of Southern California, many schools and colleges even started movements to cancel classes, and in the Alhambra Unified School District, more than 14,000 signed a petition to terminate classes till the epidemic had been resolved. 

Amidst the chaos, the discussion surrounding coronavirus started taking on a more xenophobic nature. Facebook and Twitter were soon flooded with posts blaming Asian people for spreading the virus. While in the past this kind of sentiment may have stayed exclusively online, due to the overwhelming amount of such content on social media, these unfounded and racist fears slowly began manifesting in real life. In the past few weeks, there have been numerous Asian individuals who have been verbally attacked in public settings regarding their role in the spreading of the infection. Stores all around the world have posted signs announcing they will no longer be catering to Asian crowds. Many schools have even had to hold emergency town hall meetings after reports of intense bullying directed towards the Asian students in the classroom. 

While in the past viruses like Typhus or the Bubonic Plague had carried xenophobic connotations, social media has allowed these sentiments to grow to unprecedented levels. In light of the virus’s continued epidemic status, it is unlikely that people will stop posting biased and misinformed information. Though this onslaught of the content may make the coronavirus seem overwhelming, it is vital that the average user of social media shares content responsibly after thoroughly evaluating its legitimacy and relevancy to the discussion surrounding the disease. If social media is used wisely, it can help transform the discussion around coronavirus and enable the public health officials and doctors to direct their attention to the people who really need it. 

Copy Editor: Aribah Ali

Photography Source: https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-issues/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19