(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
By Brad Bushman
No one wants their geographic region to be associated with a deadly disease. Unfortunately, this has happened in the past with diseases such as “German measles,” “Spanish flu” and “Asiatic cholera.”
It happens today, too, even though the World Health Organization advises against naming pathogens for places to “minimize unnecessary negative effects on nations, economies and people.” By Feb. 11, 2020, the WHO had announced that the official name for the novel coronavirus just starting its spread around the world would be severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 – or SARS-CoV-2. The illness it caused would be called COVID-19, short for Coronavirus Disease of 2019.
Yet some politicians, conservative journalists and others persisted in calling the COVID-19 virus the “Chinese virus,” or some variant of this term, such as the “China virus,” “Wuhan virus” (after the Chinese city that first reported the virus), “Chinese flu” and “Kung flu.”
Does it matter?
Hateful behavior against Asians in the U.S. and many other countries rose after the start of the pandemic. According to the FBI, anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 73% in 2020.
Social scientists like me are investigating the kinds of repercussions racialized framing – like calling the coronavirus “Chinese” – can have.
Reading just one article had an impact
The way media frame, depict and describe events can have a profound influence on the public’s perception of those events. Researchers have found that audiences are prone to interpret media stories in the context of their biases, especially in relation to racial groups.
My colleagues Lanier Frush Holt, Sophie Kjærvik and I found that simply reading one media article calling the coronavirus the “Chinese virus” made people more likely to blame China for the pandemic.
We randomly split a diverse sample of 614 American adults into two groups. One read a fabricated news article that labeled the coronavirus as the “Chinese virus.” The other read an identical article except for labeling the coronavirus as the “COVID-19 virus.”
There were important differences in how the articles were perceived. For instance, Democrats and more liberal individuals judged the “Chinese virus” article much more negatively than did Republicans and more conservative individuals. But overall, we found that participants who read the “Chinese virus” article were 8.5% more likely to agree with the statement “China is responsible for the current global pandemic” than were those who read the “COVID-19 virus” article.
The effect of reading that one article with “Chinese virus” language was not huge, and we wouldn’t expect it to be. The attitudes and beliefs that people brought with them before they read the story had a greater influence on their likelihood to blame China for the pandemic than did the framing language. But the fact that reading a single “Chinese virus” article did have an impact on readers with a range of political leanings shows the power of labeling a disease for a geographic region.
Naming does the framing
Other researchers have also found connections between the “Chinese virus” label and anti-Asian sentiments.
One study linked then-president Donald Trump’s tweet on March 16, 2020, that referred to “the Chinese Virus” with a rise in anti-Asian hashtags.
When pressed on his repeated use of the term “Chinese virus,” Trump told reporters at a news briefing: “It’s not racist at all. … It’s from China. That’s why. It comes from China. I want to be accurate.”
When researchers studied 1.2 million hashtags on Twitter in March 2020, they found that approximately 1 in 5 hashtags used in tweets along with #covid19 were anti-Asian, whereas half of the hashtags used alongside #chinesevirus were. “Chinese virus” wasn’t just an innocent statement of reality, as Trump seemed to contend. It was often paired with racist sentiment.
As racially stigmatizing language like “Chinese virus” increased in the media in March 2020, so did the belief that Asian Americans are less “American” than their white counterparts.
Another study found that exposure to conspiracy theories and misinformation linking China to the spread and creation of the coronavirus was correlated with an increase in anti-Chinese sentiment and xenophobia.
Use of terms like “Chinese virus” by the media and political leaders is unlikely to change a person’s beliefs or attitudes. But it can trigger negative stereotypes that can heighten prejudice and possibly even incite incidents of hate.
Just as biomedical researchers try to understand how pathogens spread through a population, social scientists are working to understand the spread of hate and prejudice. Unfortunately, in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Asian bias, only a brief exposure to racially charged language can have negative impacts.
Brad Bushman is Professor of Communication and Rinehart Chair of Mass Communication at The Ohio State University.
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Mark says
Yup, I went right out and started beating Chinese people when I heard this. The social scientist are correct. We must follow the science. They also say that men who self identify as women need to swim with women. These social SCIENTIST are the bomb!
Jimbo99 says
I haven’t heard anyone use the term “Chinese Virus”, certainly haven’t been around anyone that has perpetrated violence against any race really. Isolated & rare incidents of racism, is it like the Covid pandemic itself. Even Biden has moved on to Russia & the Ukraine crisis. The Government grant is winding down. People are exhausted from the vaccine, Covid, Biden, Fauci. Inflation is the real issue of 2021 & 2022, the rest of the noise is just that, a smoke screen of a distraction and noise. The Ukrainian-Russia crisis doesn’t affect anyone beyond the next gouge of inflation. Let’s stop rewarding those that have been using a racism card as their tool to get preferential status without having to compete.
David says
If the “Leader” of this country at the time would have just worked on getting through this pandemic instead of pointing fingers and spouting dribble at Communist China then we might very well not have conversations like this. 900,000+ dead in the United States alone and some feel they have to attack innocent fellow citizens in the name of a failed “Leader”.
Linda says
Exactly!
Alonzo says
Wow, whst a story. If anybody know death, racial profiling, lynching, white women lying, making it harder for us to vote, it is African Americans. Please give me a break I know people are racist but racist against African Americans stared from day one and continues to happen today. We’re the Chinese, Asians, Japanese lynched? I think not. Did they get denied loans to start businesses, I think not. Did their houses or buses or churches get bombed, I think not. Please give me a break, we have been hated and murdered and denied by thus country from day one. Did the Chinese, Asians, and Japanese and other people become slaves at the hands of the white man, I think not. Even the Black Farmers were denied Gov. assistance. Please give me a break about racism againt these people whst about African Americans. The white man hate us because we are dark. They think we are the scum if the earth, monkeys, darkes, lazy welfare people. We pay taxes to help fund the police department and they kill us and most of the times get away with it. Please give me a break about racism, we African Americans no the results of hatred and denial we can’t go to certain places without being questioned. The statement that put many black in prison and the grave is I feel threatened, they look suspicious, they fit the description. I dare ysll to forget how the white man treated my people. What a shame. Did the white man lynch the Orientals I think not. Now the white bastards are trying to stop my people from voting and progressing. Much more can be said.
Deborah Coffey says
There is no question about it. Donald Trump gave the haters (who used to stay under their rocks) permission to hate freely and openly. Yep, the deniers are posting right on here while anti-Asian crime rose 73% last year but, they don’t know anyone who attacked an Asian-American…so, they don’t have to care.
Sherry says
@jimbo99 . . . my suggestion is that you make an effort to learn from a variety of “credentialed” (NOT FOX) news sources. While you may not have heard disparaging remarks concerning Flagler’s HUGE Asian population (she said sarcastically). . . the story about trump using the term “Chinese Virus” was all over many different media outlets:
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday defended his increasingly frequent practice of calling the coronavirus the “Chinese Virus,” ignoring a growing chorus of criticism that it is racist and anti-Chinese.
“It’s not racist at all,” Mr. Trump said, explaining his rationale. “It comes from China, that’s why.”
But the term has angered Chinese officials and a wide range of critics, and China experts say labeling the virus that way will only ratchet up tensions between the two countries, while resulting in the kind of xenophobia that American leaders should discourage. Asian-Americans have reported incidents of racial slurs and physical abuse because of the erroneous perception that China is the cause of the virus.
To the pathetic, close minded, “Self Centered”. . . simply because “YOU” personally are not experiencing the results of the rampant fear and hate spreading across our country does not mean it is not happening! Do try to open your minds and hearts just a little.
Nancy N. says
You need to learn some history about the treatment of Asian-Americans in this country’s history, because you are woefully ignorant about it.
They’ve never been lynched? I recommend starting here, to learn about the 1871 mass lynching that killed 10% of the residents of LA’s Chinatown: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/l-groups-commemorate-1871-massacre-killed-10-citys-chinese-community-rcna3617
You can read more about the history of anti-Chinese violence and discrimination in the U.S. here:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-forgotten-history-of-the-purging-of-chinese-from-america
You also seem to have no knowledge of the fact that we literally locked 120,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps during World War II. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation
Discrimination isn’t a contest or a zero-sum game. There’s more than enough of it to go around, unfortunately. The important thing is to try to solve it for everyone affected.
Mark says
Haters have always been out from under their rocks. Trump didn’t give anyone permission. Americans have always been able to hate freely and openly. If you think people can regulate hate you are sadly mistaken. Last year wasn’t under Trump. Most crime statistics went up last year. I wonder why?
Mark says
“credentialed (NOT FOX) news sources” ? What is that? Is that like credentialed by the U S government or BLM? “erroneous perception that China is the cause of the virus”? Do you have some new certified information we don’t have access to? Last I heard it came from a bat in Wuhan, China.
Sherry says
@Mark. . . the idea that you have no concept of how “credentials” are developed tells us all everything we need to know about the validity (or lack thereof) of yours.
Sherry says
Please. . . for the love of truth. . . Read every word and really think about this:
Politifact is a fact-checking project of the Poynter University of Journalism. We have found 59% of Fox statements checked are rated as False, Mostly False, or Pants on Fire. Only 10% of statements checked are rated as fully True.
In reality, Fox isn’t news at all. It’s a political propaganda machine trying to pass itself off as a credible network.
Australian billionaire media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, founded and funded Fox News in the 90s but Roger Ailes, now deceased, appointed himself CEO and molded it into a political and propaganda force. Ailes had no background or interest in real journalism or news gathering. His previous experience was as a political operative first for Richard Nixon, and later working on a covert plan to get Republican messages into the media under the guise of news. Ailes approving hand written notes are all over a Nixon-era document which read in part:
“Today television news is watched more often than people read newspapers, than people listen to the radio, than people read or gather any other form of communication. The reason: People are lazy. With television you just sit—watch—listen. The thinking is done for you.”
Ryan Smith says
It did originate in China, so it is important to tell the truth about that, but it in no way is the fault of Asian people or Chinese people.
Deborah Coffey says
None are so blind as those who WILL NOT see.
Alonzo says
Nancy N. Thank you for the info. Never said the other group were not lynched, said I think not. Thank you anyway. I’m pretty sure the common thread is the White people doing the lynching. Often wonder why they think they can just kill and rule people. Always trying to make people live the way they want them to live. Always trying to take our freedom away just ask my people they are trying to do that today. What make white people think they have the right to kill me for nothing and in their eyes it is o.k. Often wonder how can white cops sleep at night. Often wonder why GOD made the white man. I guess I will never know.
Alonzo says
Nancy N. the numbers I scanned over about Chinese being lynched doesn’t come close to the lynching of my people by your people if you are white. Nancy I thought to myself, if I see a young white child wondering the streets 5:30, a.m. Will I stop to help him. 🤔 Probably not because the white society will probably say I stole the child. I will go about my business. If the child get hurt who is to blame, I’m not his parent.