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A deluge of disinformation a couple of flu-like virus known as HMPV is stoking anti-China sentiment throughout Asia and spurring unfounded considerations of renewed lockdowns, regardless of consultants dismissing comparisons with the COVID-19 pandemic 5 years in the past.
AFP’s fact-checkers have debunked a slew of social media posts concerning the normally non-fatal respiratory illness human metapneumovirus after circumstances rose in China. Many of those posts claimed that folks have been dying and {that a} nationwide emergency had been declared.
Garnering tens of 1000’s of views, some posts recycled previous footage from China’s draconian lockdowns in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, which originated within the nation in late 2019, in addition to of crowded hospitals and medics in hazmat fits.
The falsehoods and fearmongering, which researchers warn may jeopardize the general public response to a future pandemic, surged even because the World Well being Group mentioned China’s HMPV outbreak was “within the expected range” for this season.
Philip Mai, co-director of the Social Media Lab at Toronto Metropolitan College, informed AFP that the authors of a few of these posts have been “trying to scare people”.
Mai mentioned there was “an uptick in anti-Chinese rhetoric”, with many on on-line platforms unfairly attempting responsible HMPV circumstances “on an entire community or culture”.
One video, shared by a whole bunch of customers, confirmed a confrontation between Chinese language residents and police in medical fits, claiming that the nation had begun to isolate the inhabitants to deal with HMPV.
AFP fact-checkers discovered that the sequence portrayed an unrelated altercation that occurred in 2022 in Shanghai.
‘Monetising panic’
Different posts claimed that HMPV and COVID-19 had “cross-mutated” right into a extra extreme illness. However a number of virologists informed AFP the viruses are from totally different households and not possible to merge.
Including to the wave of disinformation have been sensational, “clickbait” headlines in some mainstream media retailers that described HMPV as a “mystery illness” overpowering the Chinese language well being care system.
In actuality, it’s a recognized pathogen that has circulated for many years and usually causes solely a light an infection of the higher respiratory tract.
“It’s an example of monetising panic in an already bewildered public right on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist on the College of Illinois Chicago, informed AFP.
“The truth is that the HMPV is not a mystery illness.”
‘Fearmongering’
Such posts have led to a surge in anti-China commentary throughout Southeast Asia, with one Fb person going so far as saying that Chinese language individuals “shouldn’t be allowed to enter the Philippines anymore”.
“Because of the psychological trauma inflicted by COVID-19—and by draconian lockdown policies—citizens around the world react anxiously to the possibility of another pandemic emerging from China,” Isaac Stone Fish, chief govt of the China-focused enterprise intelligence agency Technique Dangers, informed AFP.
“The right response is to distrust what Beijing says about public health, but not assume that means the (Chinese Communist) Party is covering up another pandemic, and certainly not to insult Chinese people,” he added.
A lot of the disinformation about HMPV in early January got here from social media accounts with an Indian focus, earlier than spreading to others with audiences in Africa, Indonesia and Japan, Mai mentioned.
In an obvious bid to ramp up the anti-China sentiment, a lot of them peddled HMPV falsehoods alongside movies of individuals consuming meals which will appear unusual or unique to outsiders.
Others used spooky music and previous photos to sensationalize routine cautions issued by Chinese language well being authorities.
Many such posts on X reached hundreds of thousands of viewers with out a Neighborhood Observe, a crowd-sourced software to debunk false info.
“My concern is that all of the fear-mongering about HMPV now will make it harder for public health officials to raise the alarm about future pandemics,” Mai mentioned.
© 2025 AFP
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Virus disinformation drives anti-China sentiment, lockdown fears (2025, February 11)
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