Health

China spreads conspiracies in effort to conceal its role in coronavirus pandemic

Salaam Times and AFP

A worker fumigates streets in Tehran in mid-March in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic that originated in China. [Asghar Khamseh/IRNA]

A worker fumigates streets in Tehran in mid-March in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic that originated in China. [Asghar Khamseh/IRNA]

China is actively attempting to deflect criticism of its role in the coronavirus pandemic spreading across the world by promoting conspiracy theories about the origin of the virus.

The spread of these malignant conspiracy theories is not coming from Chinese citizens but from the highest echelons of the Chinese government.

"Patient zero" in the global pandemic may have come from the United States -- not from the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan, where cases were first reported in late 2019, suggested Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian in Mandarin and English tweets last week.

"It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation," tweeted Zhao, who is known for his provocative statements on social media.

The United States March 13 summoned China's ambassador after Zhao's inflammatory tweets, deeming them "ridiculous", the US State Department said.

"China is seeking to deflect criticism for its role in starting a global pandemic and not telling the world," a State Department official said.

"Spreading conspiracy theories is dangerous and ridiculous. We wanted to put the government on notice we won't tolerate it, for the good of the Chinese people and the world," the official said.

The pandemic started in a market in Wuhan that sold exotic animals for human consumption, scientists widely assert.

US President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters to announce a state of emergency over the pandemic, also dismissed the Chinese conspiracy theory.

"They know where it came from. We all know where it came from," said Trump.

The circulation of disinformation is not a new tactic for the Communist Party state. The United States, in particular, is often a foil of Chinese propaganda efforts.

Rampant conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theories have circulated widely on social media as the novel coronavirus takes a heavy impact, with more than 5,300 people dead and 140,000 infected worldwide so far.

Last month it was revealed that thousands of Russia-linked social media accounts had launched a co-ordinated effort to spread conspiracy theories about the coronavirus, suggesting the United States was behind the COVID-19 outbreak.

False personae on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are advancing Russian talking points in multiple languages, US officials tasked with combating Russian disinformation told AFP.

Additionally, international concern has grown over the Iranian regime's failure to deliver accurate information to the public as the uncontrolled coronavirus outbreak in the country threatens neighbouring countries and beyond.

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How much wrong news you spread. Remove all these absurdities.

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This is all the punishment from God which hit the Chinese people. The Chinese were very cruel to the Uighur Muslims. They killed them and burned them alive. What was the sin of the Uighur people that the Chinese were killing them so cruelly? Their sin was that they worshiped only one God. Their sin was that they were not Buddhists. After all of these cruelties, God has inflected the Corona disease on them, and thousands of them have died from the disease. It is also possible that among those who died because of Corona disease, are some people who had oppressed and killed Chinese Muslims. Now they have to respond to the God. Their sin was doubled. Their first sin was that they were Buddhists and considered the Buddha who was a human as their God and worshiped him. Their other sin was that they killed innocent Muslims.

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Yes, it is a hundred percent true.

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All the countries of the world should impose economic sanctions on China, because Corona-virus spread from China. Chinese eat any kinds of unlawful animals, and it is said that Corona-virus spread from eating bat soup. Chinese eat all the things that move on the earth. They eat the meat of dog, cat, donkey, snake, mouse, crocodile, and they even eat the flesh of their own dead bodies, as eating all these animals are said unlawful in the Holy Quran. Eating pork that the Qur'an insists it should not be eaten by people has proven today by science that eating it is harmful to human and that its bacteria is not easily killed in cooking. Science says this today, but Quran said this fourteen hundreds years ago. So all the people of the world should follow Quran. Quran has come not only to guide Muslims, but also to guide all human beings. Chinese should repent and refer to the true God and convert to Islam. Only Islam can solve today’s world problems. Quran which is the book of Islam talks about regulations or rules of life that how human should live in this world. Quran talks about cleanliness and hygiene and says that cleanliness is part of faith. Quran Talks about science and technology. Quran emphases on worshiping and says that the purpose of human creation is worshiping and human must remind his/her God in five times prayers daily, and should be thankful to God for granting him life. You saw Donald Trump, today's most arrogant man and the president of the United State which is

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