Taking a Step Back: Thoughts from China on the U.S. Pandemic Coverage

Living in China, I would characterize the coronavirus experience as a mixture of control and camaraderie.

It is no secret that the government of China has a strong grip on power here. They say “jump,” 1.4 billion people say “how high?” They say “lockdown,” 12 million people say “how long?” But it can’t be denied that China did an effective job stopping the spread of the virus, no matter if you agree with their methods or not. 

China coronavirus cases

Pedestrians pass under a news ticker in Times Square, Wednesday, March 11, 2020, in New York, N.Y. The number of coronavirus cases in New York state jumped Sunday to more than 100, a spread that forced the suspension of classes at schools across the state, including a district that has a faculty member with a positive test and Columbia and Hofstra universities. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

During this new normal, I have experienced this government control first hand. I have had to download apps to track my location and follow last-minute government policies, no questions asked. But I have also experienced kindness and witnessed the coming together of a nation that I have not seen from the U.S. 

I’m not trying to say that this is not happening in the U.S. For all I know, there could be, and most likely are, many stories of humanity, compassion, and camaraderie happening daily in the States. But I seldom hear about those. 

Some of the blame lies with me for not being properly informed. Some of the blame lies with the censoring of information here in China. But I think a lot of the blame lies with the American mainstream media’s reporting. 

If I were to summarize the coronavirus experience in the U.S., as viewed from afar, I would say it’s a mixture of sensationalism and politicization. That’s how the American situation is being portrayed to the world. Those are all the stories I am reading from mainstream outlets. 

As I was writing this piece, I decided to take a look at what some of the top news outlets are covering. I first visited CNN’s website. 

CNN’s homepage featured an article titled, “Trump sows division and confusion as US pursues opening1.” Littered around their front page were headlines proclaiming the rise in cases as some states try to open again and the shortage of ICU beds in Alabama 2, and a fatal shooting3.

I then ventured over to MSNBC’s website. Their homepage featured a story on the Pompeo scandal4. It also mentioned Trump’s inconsistent wearing of a face mask5 and a story about a man who committed a mass shooting at a waffle house after being asked to wear a mask6. 

Just to get a fair and balanced view of the political new spectrum, I visited Fox News’ site. Their homepage featured a story titled, “‘Mass Casualty Incident’: Doctors raise alarm about health effects of continued shutdown, in letter to Trump7.” 

All I saw was sensationalized, politicized coverage of current events and coronavirus fear-mongering. Every story I saw had an angle. They were either trying to paint the other side of the political spectrum as bad or attempting to spread fear in the readers about a pandemic that has already caused enough negative effects as it is. 

What I didn’t see were helpful articles informing the public of how to stay safe and healthy or stories of the good in humanity. 

To be fair, all of these sites have pages dedicated to information on the coronavirus that I could navigate to through links somewhere on the page. However, I was hard-pressed to find an uplifting or informative piece.

All I could find were headlines detailing infection and death counts or why people should be scared because our leadership is either doing a terrible job or is being held back from doing the great job they could be doing. 

Now, this is not to say that coverage should not be given to these stories. People have a right to know about anything and everything going on in their country. But as the John Mayer song goes, “when they own the information…they can bend it all they want.” . 

If I was to believe the stories being plastered on the front pages of these mainstream sites, I would quickly lose hope in the future of my country. 

Where are the stories of neighbors helping neighbors? Of strangers providing comfort to strangers? Of leaders taking the time to soothe an anxious public and give them the information they need to care for themselves and their loved ones? In a country of over 325 million, there has to be at least a minority of people doing good, right? 

I decided to give these news outlets a second chance. After all, I was judging a website by its front page, wasn’t I?   

I went back to Fox News’ site first. I clicked on the coronavirus tab and was taken to a page featuring a big picturing linking to frequently asked questions8. This article detailed what people should and should not do to stay safe and healthy. So at least this important information is being presented in some place. 

However, right next to this picture was a tally counter of infections and deaths. As if it wasn’t scary enough seeing these numbers creeping into the millions, Fox News decided to display this information against a blood red background. I scrolled down past the FAQs and saw more stories of alarms being raised, scandals being exposed, and public figures reacting to controversies. 

On MSNBC’s website, I navigated to their live blog of the “latest news on the global coronavirus pandemic.” The top story on that page was about the WHO recording the worst day of the virus yet9. The grim stories continued below that as headlines pronounced tensions rising,  equipment failing, and people dying. 

Finally, I went back to CNN’s site. I clicked on the “CORONAVIRUS: Live updates” tab and was given the option to subscribe to “The Good Stuff” newsletter. I was pleasantly surprised. Here, finally, was a place to read about the good in the world. 

Hoping for more good, I continued to scroll down. However, I found only more negative, fear-mongering stories ranging from Xi Jinping not wearing a mask to government gatherings10, to Mexico recording its worst day11 and an increasing number of asymptomatic carriers estimated by the CDC12. 

Why do we have to sift through bias to find the truth? Why does the light seem to be overshadowed by the dark? During a time like this, we don’t need division and sensationalism; we need information and uplifting stories. We need these outlets to help us stay educated and get through this tough time. We need the mainstream media to be the trusted source of information we expect them to be. 

I can only hope that the situation back home is not as bad as these sites are making it look. Until these outlets change their ways, I’ll keep searching for the good. Hopefully, then, I will find a better picture of my country than I currently see.