write a short note on the role of media in current situation of covid-19 in India
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Answer:
Role of media in COVID-19
Origin
In December 2019, the reports of patients with viral pneumonia in China surfaced. The origin was related to the Huanan Seafood’s whole market. Researchers established that the disease has most likely originated from bats, mutated to infect humans, and transmitted by droplet routes among humans. Since the origin occurred in a wet market, the media criticized the Chinese for consuming live animals like bats, snakes, and dogs. Previously known as “Wuhan virus” and “China coronavirus,” it was subsequently called 2019-nCoV, and then finally, on February 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) gave the disease an official name, "Covid-19". In spite of this, renowned world leaders ignorantly kept calling it “Chinese virus” which left concerning effects in international communities [8,9]. Asian people were stigmatized and called by the name ‘Corona’ on the streets. Many reported incidents of such racial slurs which exaggerated already existing prejudices among people. This happened in SARS 2003 in Toronto which caused the xenophobic reaction, and similarly, was repeated with the coronavirus pandemic. It had a significant impact, leading the Chinese government to order the closure of all farmer’s markets and put a ban on eating live animals. This was an essential step in halting the spread of the virus. However, it also created a false sense of security among the rest of the world, and no one took the necessary precautions when the cases were limited to China.
Another news was that the ongoing bioweapons research in Wuhan universities has led to the emergence of the virus. It resulted in tweets about USA army troops bringing the virus to Wuhan while attending military games in Oct 2019. The use of media to spread rumors has been happening for a long time. For example, in 1985, the CIA was blamed for manufacturing the AIDS virus, prompting similar reactions in the public’s perception of the spread and handling of the virus. Such conspiracies create differences among nations, form unseen boundaries, and hinder the collaboration of scientists throughout the world in finding solutions. This recurred in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine as well, and the task became a competition for innovation and technology between Washington and China, rather than a solution for public well being. Thus, the goal of the world’s two largest economies became to win the battle of supremacy and achieve ultimate power [10].