T. Becket Adams accuses mainstream media of pushing 'literal Chinese communist propaganda' amid pandemic

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The Washington Examiner's T. Becket Adams took major media outlets to task on Wednesday, accusing them of uncritically relaying propaganda from China, even as that country actively suppressed information about the coronavirus.

"When China’s overwhelming incompetence, hubris, and duplicity brought a viral pandemic to the U.S., a substantial segment of the free press reflexively recited literal Chinese communist propaganda. Never forget that," he said.

Adams highlighted a Foreign Policy report alleging that China's government directed media outlets not to publish negative information about its response to the pandemic.

In the Foreign Policy article, reporter Tracy Wen Liu said that she was "repeatedly shut down by authorities" when she tried reporting on the virus. She added "that [t]he government sent dozens of journalists to Wuhan to shape the narrative around the virus."

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Liu added that Beijing's suppression included mass removals of COVID-19 patients' online pleas for help.

Similarly, Dr. Li-Meng Yan, a Chinese virologist, has accused the Chinese government of knowing about the coronavirus long before it acknowledged its existence to the world.

As Adams noted, the mainstream media in the U.S. has repeatedly come under fire for its coverage of China's coronavirus response. Some outlets have favorably compared China's response to that of the U.S., while other reports have uncritically repeated China's claim that it saw no new coronavirus deaths in April.

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"Keep in mind," Adams wrote, "that at around the time that she [Liu] says the Chinese Communist Party was reportedly cracking down on whistleblowers and medical workers, all while spearheading a propaganda campaign to position itself on the world stage as the most credible and competent superpower, members of the free press were practically tripping over themselves to praise China’s allegedly innovative and victorious response to the deadly contagion."

Fox News' Barnini Chakraborty contributed to this report.