Limbaugh and Trump fuel coronavirus conspiracy theories

[md11fr8dawg]

I find it fascinating that we don't know ("for sure") where this virus came from. Was it hatched in a lab in Canada and transported to the Bio Lab in Wuhan by the Chi Coms, or did it develop in humans that ate bats in China?  Instead of doing journalist research to answer these questions our Lame Stream Media prefers to foster fear mongering 24/7? Why? You all know why. They have made this thing political, intentionally, period. They don't give a DAMN about the American people or the population of the world for that matter. They stay almost 100% negative reporting nothing but dome and gloom. Kinda makes you want to hurl!!

[Shabibilicious]

6 minutes ago, md11fr8dawg said:

I find it fascinating that we don't know ("for sure") where this virus came from. Was it hatched in a lab in Canada and transported to the Bio Lab in Wuhan by the Chi Coms, or did it develop in humans that ate bats in China?  Instead of doing journalist research to answer these questions our Lame Stream Media prefers to foster fear mongering 24/7? Why? You all know why. They have made this thing political, intentionally, period. They don't give a DAMN about the American people or the population of the world for that matter. They stay almost 100% negative reporting nothing but dome and gloom. Kinda makes you want to hurl!!

 

Suspected coronavirus culprit...the Pangolin.

 

 

GO RV, then BV

[umbertino]

21 hours ago, Shabibilicious said:

 

Yep....panic is not the answer, vigilance is.

 

GO RV, then BV

 

And a huge dose of  good ole "common sense"

[umbertino]

22 hours ago, ladyGrace'sDaddy said:

To put this in perspective, there's some 80+ thousand cases of this virus in the world with a population of 7.5 BILLION. There's only some 2700 deaths reported. So, NO, I'm not going to panic just yet. 

 

 

Totally agree......I'm not in panic at all myself despite the enormous media hell  which got ( malevolently) raised.....

[umbertino]

39 minutes ago, Shabibilicious said:

 

Suspected coronavirus culprit...the Pangolin.

 

 

GO RV, then BV

 

 

Awesome, Shabbs.....

[md11fr8dawg]

Shabs I read it was caused by eating bats.

[umbertino]

1 minute ago, md11fr8dawg said:

Shabs I read it was caused by eating bats.

 

Yes...They said that...And a lot of other things...

 

Animal - Man transmission...But they mentioned a few animals...Bats, snakes, other.....

[Shabibilicious]

51 minutes ago, md11fr8dawg said:

Shabs I read it was caused by eating bats.

 

Pangolins are possible coronavirus hosts, Chinese scientists say

BY CAITLIN O'KANE

FEBRUARY 7, 2020 / 11:27 AM / CBS NEWS

 

Pangolins are possible hosts of coronavirus, a study led by South China Agricultural University has found.

 

Experts believe the outbreak originated at wild animal markets in Wuhan, China. After analyzing more than 1,000 samples, scientists found that the genome sequence of the virus in pangolins was 99% identical to that from infected people. That means pangolins are the most likely intermediate host of coronavirus, Liu Yahong, president of the university, said, according to state media. 

Pangolins, which look like scaly anteaters, are considered a delicacy in China and other countries, and pangolin scales are used in traditional medicine. 

A pangolin, or scaly anteater.STEPHEN HOGG/AP PHOTO/WORLD WILDLIFE FUND-MALAYSIA

Pangolins are protected by international law, but they are still one of Asia's most trafficked mammals. More than one million have been poached in the past decade, putting the species' survival at risk, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In 2016, a ban was placed on the trade of pangolins, but sale of the animals appears to persist in parts of Asia and Africa.

The new information about pangolins as a potential intermediate host of the novel coronavirus will aid in the prevention and control of the virus, Liu said.

Health experts believed the new strain of coronavirus possibly originated with bats before jumping to the human population, perhaps through an intermediary like pangolins. 

Infectious disease expert Dr. Ian Lipkin told CBS News on Wednesday that similar viruses will continue to pop up "every couple of years" as long as the so-called wet markets selling a multitude of animal species remain in business. 

"I want the wild animal markets closed," Lipkin said. 

But that step alone might not be sufficient. "While closing wildlife markets could have a major impact, bans alone will not stop the illegal wildlife trade if demand persists," The World Wildlife Fund said in a statement. "This health crisis must serve as a wake-up call for the need to end unsustainable use of endangered animals and their parts, as exotic pets, for food consumption and for their perceived medicinal value."

The death toll from coronavirus has risen to more than 630, with all but two of the deaths in mainland China. More than 31,000 people have been infected with the virus worldwide, the vast majority of them in China.

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pangolin-coronavirus-scale-anteater-possible-host-of-virus-chinese-scientists-say/ 

 

GO RV, then BV

[Shabibilicious]

Coronavirus: How Fox News and other right-wing media endanger our health

 

Nikki McCann Ramírez, Opinion contributor

,

USA TODAY Opinion•February 27, 2020

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Tuesday that Americans should prepare for a “significant disruption” to everyday life as the spread of COVID-19 (known colloquially as the coronavirus) into the United States becomes “not so much a question of if,” according to one official, “but rather more a question of exactly when.”

Despite steady warnings from health organizations worldwide, right-wing media are clogging the airwaves with conspiracy theories and inaccurate reporting. Outlets like Fox News are broadcasting sensationalistic, poorly sourced talking points, obfuscating the realities of the outbreak and the United States' own readiness to deal with it, leaving Americans more vulnerable and less informed.

Virtually from the moment reports of a new virus emerged out of Wuhan, China, far-right extremists began circulating theories about its origin. When experts declared that the coronavirus likely spread from bats, far-right figures began circulating videos showing Asian people consuming exotic animals. Former InfoWars personality Paul Joseph Watson tweeted, “Our media encourages us to eat all kinds of weird stuff because it’s ‘normal’ in other cultures,” but “some cultures are better than others.”

That evening, Fox News prime-time host Tucker Carlson also blamed the emergence of the virus on Chinese culture, erroneously claiming it was a result of people consuming animals “alive.” 

Fringe conspiracy theories

The moment was emblematic of the cycle that right-wing media has fallen into while covering the coronavirus: Fringe conspiracy theories are making their way to more mainstream outlets and overshadowing accurate, fact-based reporting.

In early February, fringe bloggers claimed that the findings of an unpublished, unreviewed paper that found similarities between the virus and HIV indicated that the virus was man-made. Though it was repeatedly debunked, the claim is now ubiquitous in right-wing media: The Daily Wire, The Federalist, Steve Bannon and Rush Limbaugh have all uncritically pushed the conspiracy theory that the virus may have leaked from a Chinese research lab.

On Fox News, Carlson has broadcast the narrative multiple times under the guise that “some say” it might be true. Carlson’s claims are particularly egregious — at one point, he doubled down on the claim minutes after Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, stated that “medical professionals suggest that the structure of the virus seems unlikely to have been man-made." 

The Daily Caller, a right-wing website founded by Carlson, chose instead to focus on Cuccinelli’s statement that he couldn’t “absolutely” rule it out.

The “escaped virus” conspiracy theory is no longer contained to right-wing media — it has now spread to at least one prominent lawmaker. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was criticized this week for an appearance on Fox News in which he repeated the debunked theory, and Cotton had made the claim at least two other times on Fox.  

Despite widespread condemnation by major news organizations for ignoring the best available scientific evidence, right-wing outlets rushed to defend and reframe his remarks.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.

The lack of accurate information amid this bioweapon fearmongering is gravely concerning, but possibly more alarming are the emerging right-wing media attempts to frame the spread of coronavirus — and the already visible consequences — as a plot to hurt President Donald Trump.

Limbaugh worked the “lab” conspiracy theory into an unhinged rant, claiming that “the coronavirus is an effort to get Trump” by unknown forces seeking to crash the American economy and help Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders “turn the United States into a mirror image of communist China.”

Even though Limbaugh’s story sounds like a cheap spy novel, he’s not alone in pushing this sort of political narrative. Multiple outlets have attempted to blame Sanders for the drop in markets caused by the virus’ affects abroad.

Carlson went so far as to echo Limbaugh’s claim that an economic downturn would ultimately help Sanders defeat Trump.

Coronavirus politics

The politicization of the disease ultimately serves to provide cover for right-wing media to justify bigoted policies and xenophobic rhetoric. Carlson, a man with a well-documented history of expressing white nationalist sentiment, blamed globalization for the outbreak, and declared that “wokeness is a cult” that would “let you die before they admitted that diversity is not our strength."

Others have adopted right-wing media talking points about the disease to justify Trump’s policies. On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that the coronavirus showed his father had been “proven right again” about “border control, American manufacturing” and being a “China hawk.” Fox News' Melissa Francis argued that the coronavirus outbreak had vindicated Trump’s trade war with China.

It is now practically inevitable that the United States will face an outbreak of the coronavirus, but half-baked information is already appearing in public statements from Trump and other officials. Trump has already made multiple false or misleading claims regarding the virus that contradict experts and his own government organizations.

No amount of spin can erase the administration’s major cuts to CDC programs over the past two years, which have cast uncertainty on the organization's ability to handle a potential pandemic.

At this moment, every news outlet’s focus should be ensuring that the American public is receiving the best, most accurate information possible regarding the virus. Coronavirus is no less contagious if you watch Fox News rather than CNN or MSNBC. The right-wing media ecosystem’s efforts to muddy the waters ultimately puts their audiences — and the public at large — at greater risk. Right-wing media outlets are failing their audience by turning a global health emergency into a tinfoil hat spectacle.

 

https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-fox-news-other-wing-202100444.html?.tsrc=jtc_news_index

 

GO RV, then BV

[adhoc10]

The real story will come out when profiteering statistics begin to emerge. Wars and disease are huge money makers. If starting a war is not feasible , then go for plan B?

Edited February 28, 2020 by adhoc10
spelling correction

[umbertino]

1 hour ago, Shabibilicious said:

 

Pangolins are possible coronavirus hosts, Chinese scientists say

BY CAITLIN O'KANE

FEBRUARY 7, 2020 / 11:27 AM / CBS NEWS

 

Pangolins are possible hosts of coronavirus, a study led by South China Agricultural University has found.

 

Experts believe the outbreak originated at wild animal markets in Wuhan, China. After analyzing more than 1,000 samples, scientists found that the genome sequence of the virus in pangolins was 99% identical to that from infected people. That means pangolins are the most likely intermediate host of coronavirus, Liu Yahong, president of the university, said, according to state media. 

Pangolins, which look like scaly anteaters, are considered a delicacy in China and other countries, and pangolin scales are used in traditional medicine. 

A pangolin, or scaly anteater.STEPHEN HOGG/AP PHOTO/WORLD WILDLIFE FUND-MALAYSIA

Pangolins are protected by international law, but they are still one of Asia's most trafficked mammals. More than one million have been poached in the past decade, putting the species' survival at risk, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In 2016, a ban was placed on the trade of pangolins, but sale of the animals appears to persist in parts of Asia and Africa.

The new information about pangolins as a potential intermediate host of the novel coronavirus will aid in the prevention and control of the virus, Liu said.

Health experts believed the new strain of coronavirus possibly originated with bats before jumping to the human population, perhaps through an intermediary like pangolins. 

Infectious disease expert Dr. Ian Lipkin told CBS News on Wednesday that similar viruses will continue to pop up "every couple of years" as long as the so-called wet markets selling a multitude of animal species remain in business. 

"I want the wild animal markets closed," Lipkin said. 

But that step alone might not be sufficient. "While closing wildlife markets could have a major impact, bans alone will not stop the illegal wildlife trade if demand persists," The World Wildlife Fund said in a statement. "This health crisis must serve as a wake-up call for the need to end unsustainable use of endangered animals and their parts, as exotic pets, for food consumption and for their perceived medicinal value."

The death toll from coronavirus has risen to more than 630, with all but two of the deaths in mainland China. More than 31,000 people have been infected with the virus worldwide, the vast majority of them in China.

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pangolin-coronavirus-scale-anteater-possible-host-of-virus-chinese-scientists-say/ 

 

GO RV, then BV

 

 

 

https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/rare-baby-chinese-pangolin-born-to-rescued-mom-makes-surprise-debut-at-vietnam-sanctuary-video/

[nstoolman1]

Create a problem, panic people, provide a solution at a astronomical price. 

This is typically how you get the people to unquestionably hand over their money for the solution.

 

When the bird flu was touted to be a pandemic possibility, they made millions of flue vaccines available. Very few got them.

Then the government had to figure a way to get them used. They combined them with other flu shots. 

[Shabibilicious]

 

 

11 minutes ago, nstoolman1 said:

Create a problem, panic people, provide a solution at a astronomical price. 

This is typically how you get the people to unquestionably hand over their money for the solution.

 

When the bird flu was touted to be a pandemic possibility, they made millions of flue vaccines available. Very few got them.

Then the government had to figure a way to get them used. They combined them with other flu shots. 

 

I wonder if money was the driving dynamics behind the Black Death, Smallpox, Typhoid, Malaria, etc. etc.   

 

GO RV, then BV 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Shabibilicious

[umbertino]

16 minutes ago, nstoolman1 said:

Create a problem, panic people, provide a solution at a astronomical price. 

This is typically how you get the people to unquestionably hand over their money for the solution.

 

When the bird flu was touted to be a pandemic possibility, they made millions of flue vaccines available. Very few got them.

Then the government had to figure a way to get them used. They combined them with other flu shots. 

 

Agreed....That's sad

[nstoolman1]

8 minutes ago, Shabibilicious said:

 

 

 

I wonder if money was the driving dynamics behind the Black Death, Smallpox, Typhoid, Malaria, etc. etc.   

 

GO RV, then BV 

If they were created then, yes. 

There are any number of "emergencies" that have been created in order to get prices up. 

Oil shortage of the 70's for one. 

 

[MyLadiesDaddy]

In 5 weeks this won't even be a story. Problem is they'll have another just as end of the world story.