Essay: Conservatives and CCP: Denial and Control of COVID-19 Information

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, many hard-hit countries are scrambling to control the virus’ wildfire-like spread and for some, their political ideologies are adding oil to the fire thus impeding the process of containment. So, how does the United State’s conservatives and the Chinese Communist Party both deny and attempt to control information about the Coronavirus pandemic? The United States conservatives and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) both deny and attempt to control information about coronavirus by denying the trustworthiness of science agencies, dismissing the virus’s urgency and manipulating information about the virus on social media.
Firstly, the United States conservatives and the Chinese Communist Party attempt to control information about the Coronavirus pandemic by denying the trustworthiness of science agencies and professionals. Science agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors are trained professionals with the job to protect people from health, safety and security, but conservative Americans and the CCP prevent them from efficiently doing this duty during this pandemic. In the United States, an article by Lawrence Hamilton and his colleagues from the University of New Hampshire concluded that the data from a nationwide poll illustrates how US conservatives portray a high level of distrust in science agencies thus leading to their dismissal of the coronavirus and inadequate actions against it. The conclusion of the paper states that “political divisions in respect for science during a pandemic have deeper roots” (Hamilton). The nationwide survey by Carsey School researchers in 2016, found that there was a 25-point gap between conservatives and liberals, regarding whether they trusted science agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Hamilton and his colleagues analyzed how since 2016 the US Trump-led government has taken harsh steps against science agencies, such as “eliminating a National Security Council team responsible for pandemic preparedness and cutting budgets for disease-security programs” (Hamilton). These agencies are needed during the coronavirus pandemic thus the US conservative’s ideology of distrust of science is now having severe negative impacts on the United States’ ability to deal with COVID-19. In China, similarly to the United States’ instillment of distrust, many doctors are being silenced by being accused of spreading false information and then manipulated into not reporting coronavirus cases. For example, Dr. Li Wenliang “raised the alarm about the coronavirus at the end of December but was silenced and reprimanded by police in Wuhan”, officials dismissed his claims by forcing him to sign a confession that said he was lying when now we know he was not (Gilbert). The Chinese Communist Party government continued to try to control information about the virus from doctors by ordering “them to count only patients with a known connection to the source of the outbreak and [they] had to have their cases confirmed by bureaucrats before they were reported to higher-ups” (Myers). This silencing and manipulation of doctors allowed the CCP to control the information about the virus the world knew, leading to the ultimate spread of the virus in its early days. All in all, conservative Americans and the Chinese Communist Party aim to control information about the Coronavirus pandemic by their the trustworthiness of science agencies and professionals.
In addition, the United States conservatives and the Chinese Communist Party attempt to control the dissemination of information about the virus by actively dismissing the urgency of it. In both countries, the dismissal of the virus takes different forms; by the denial of preventive measures and misreporting key information about the virus. In the United States, conservatives thoroughly illustrate their dismissal of the virus by not following social distancing measures. For example, research conducted by the University of Chicago has collected data from analyzing internet searches, and proprietary data on county-level average daily travel distance and visits to non-essential businesses from a large sample of U.S. smartphones, that shows that counties who voted in higher numbers for Republicans, which have conservative views, “had practiced less social distancing and [exhibit a] lower perception of risk associated with the COVID-19 virus” (Barrios). Thus, this data illustrates their in-compliant behaviour and ignorance towards the urgency of the pandemic (Barrios). Also, evidence of the denial of the virus is seen through conservative leader, President Donald Trump, data from the Washington Post has recorded that by April 2nd Trump has told 347 false and misleading claims about the coronavirus, especially the dismissal of it in the early stages of the spread which inevitably sparked similar behaviours and beliefs amongst conservatives in the country. In China, the dismissal of the virus can be seen by their number of misreported coronavirus cases and the downplaying of the virus by officials in its early days. The CCP has revised its death toll and it has increased by 50% from the original count, the government denies there was any cover-up in its handling of the crisis but reports suggest otherwise (Kuo). During the early days of the outbreak, WHO stated that officials in China found that there was no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission (World Health Organization), but in a January study in The Lancet, contains data that shows “more than a third of patients had no connections to the Wuhan food market” and that people were infected weeks before CCP would admit, demonstrating their dismissal of the urgency of the virus by denying this key information (Huang). Also, evidence that “top officials in the central Chinese city of Wuhan [gathered together] for a Lunar New Year gala – even as a new virus that originated in their city was spreading rapidly” (Kang). This sparked questions of “why officials were enjoying a gala show instead of dealing with the epidemic or shortages of supplies” demonstrating how the CCP clearly downplayed the situation, a view shared by Dali Yang, a professor of Chinese politics at the University of Chicago (Kang). As seen, the United States conservatives and the Chinese Communist Party similarly attempts to deny and control the dissemination of information about the virus by actively dismissing the gravity of it.
Furthermore, the United States conservatives and the Chinese Communist Party censors, and withholds information while actively spreading misinformation about the virus on social media and news platforms. Misinformation about the virus includes claims with no supporting scientific evidence, which can be found spread extensively through news and social media platforms during the pandemic. In the United States, conservatives spread misinformation amongst themselves on social media and through right-leaning news channels. According to reporter Jeremy W. Peters with The New York Times, many “right-wing commentators turned a pandemic into a battle of us vs. them” by spreading misinformation about the virus. For example, conservative Candace Owens tweeted in the early days of the virus, that the growing anxiety over the outbreak is because of a “doomsday cult” of liberal paranoia (Peters). With continuous misinformed comments spreading amongst conservatives “who get their information from media personalities like Ms. Owens heard that this once-in-a-lifetime global health crisis was actually downright ordinary” (Peters). Additionally, a research paper by Matthew Mota demonstrates how right-leaning news coverage of the virus has facilitated the spread of misinformation during the early stages of the pandemic. The report states the results of an automated content analysis shows that right-leaning news outlets like Fox News and Breitbart were “more than 2.5 times more likely than mainstream outlets to discuss COVID-19 misinformation during the early stages of the U.S. pandemic response”. Plus, their second more nationally representative survey shows that “people who consumed more right-leaning news were more than twice as likely to endorse COVID-related misinformation” (Mota). Thus, this survey’s data suggests that conservatives consume more misinformation about the virus, and the endorse and spread it more frequently, which in the end has negative public health consequences, as they are “more likely to believe that the CDC is exaggerating COVID-related health risks” (Mota). In China, the CCP directly withholds and spreads misinformation by censoring keywords, and intentionally spreads of conspiracy theories about the virus. Proving that the CCP is controlling the information their population has access to on social media by censoring content, is a report by The Citizen Lab. The collected data in the report shows that keywords relating to the criticism of the government, rumours and speculative information about the virus, references to Dr. Li Wenliang, and neutral remarks about the Chinese government’s efforts on handling the outbreak, has been censored (Ruan). As early as December 31st, on YY a live-streaming platform in China, keywords relating to the virus began to be censored, which was a day after doctors (including the late Dr. Li Wenliang) “tried to warn the public about the then unknown virus” (Ruan). Also, reported by Ben Westcott and Steven Jiang with CNN, a Chinese official, Zhao Lijian, has promoted a conspiracy theory on Twitter that US military brought coronavirus to Wuhan, sparking the spread of this misinformation on Chinese social media platforms allowing the CCP to divert blame of the virus from themselves by controlling what information reaches their population. All in all, the United States conservatives and the CCP demonstrate politically motivated manipulation and active disinformation about the virus on social media and news platforms.
Ultimately, the measures and actions in which countries handle the virus’ wildfire-like spread can expose the similarities between countries and their political motivations. Just like how the United States conservatives and the Chinese Communist Party, despite having different ideologies, both similarly deny and attempt to control information about coronavirus by the denial of the trustworthiness of science agencies, dismissal the virus’s urgency and manipulation of information about the virus on social media. With the virus’s end far insight, we must acknowledge these detrimental politically motivated actions being made and prevent them, so we can protect the health and lives of many. All in all, in a world of many different political ideologies, we must join together and endorse science-based measures to successfully flatten the curve.