I have been listening to The Daily podcast by the New York Times for about six months. I started listening to it because my girlfriend wanted to discuss current events. Over time I enjoyed it to the point that it was no longer an obligation. I really liked the January 6th episode ‘The Herd Mentality‘ where journalists performed a dramatic reenactment of an FBI interview that was publicly released.
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the February 5th episode ‘Zero Covid Olympics‘. In that episode at 12:50 the reporter being interviewed states “…if you even look at the death toll today, China has only had 4,600 or so deaths from the coronavirus.”. 4,600 deaths is the official number reported by the Chinese government.
This Forbes article does an excellent job explaining that the Chinese government is intentionally misreporting COVID19 deaths. An article in the Economist used excess death analysis to estimate the true number of COVID19 deaths in China. It is likely above 1.7 million and could be as high as 2.3 million. Death numbers are important as an indicator of disease severity. But they are also important as an indicator of honestly.
If the Chinese government was open and honest about COVID19 things could have happened a lot differently. The international community could have been warned that the pandemic was coming earlier and how severe it would be. This could have led to earlier travel restrictions, earlier vaccine research funding, and preparatory stockpiling of medical supplies. Chinese healthcare workers could have been provided with PPE earlier and Chinese citizens could have received international healthcare aid. Not only that, but the Chinese government could have provided information about what policies they were implementing and how effective different policies were at containing the spread of the virus. By being the first hit by the virus, China could have become a leader in COVID19 knowledge for the international community, and many lives could have been saved. But instead, the Chinese government suppressed and lied.
They lied to create an image of control. They lied to assert their power. They lied to avoid blame. And The New York Times is complicit.
It is not clear that if the Chinese government was more forthcoming and honest about COVID19 that the pandemic would have progressed any differently (although I am not the only person who thinks it would have). We cannot forget though that COVID19 is the second coronavirus epidemic to originate in China in the last 20 years. The Chinese government similarly suppressed information related to SARS-COVID. The Chinese government hid SARS patients from WHO inspectors by driving them around in ambulances. Then the Chinese government did not allow WHO inspectors to enter hospitals treating COVID19 patients. It is clear to me that the Chinese government would similarly lie and suppress information if a third coronavirus appeared. Maybe then we would realize that the Chinese government’s behavior has been and continues to be unacceptable.
I can forgive bad journalism. Maybe the fact-checker for The Daily was on vacation. I can even forgive being treated like an idiot. Maybe the writers for The Daily thought they could sneak an obvious lie past the listeners. I have enjoyed the podcast and I am willing to look beyond a mistake or miscalculation. This was neither. The New York Times is bowing to Beijing by validating the lies of the Chinese government. And the fact that reputable news sources like Forbes and The Economist have published articles revealing the lies of the Chinese government proves that this reporting by the New York Times is intentional and politically motivated. By propping up the lies of the Chinese government, the New York Time is prioritizing politics over the health of Chinese citizens and the broader international community.
When I catch up on the news I am not looking for Chinese propaganda. For this reason, I am switching to The Intelligence podcast by The Economist for my news and will no longer engage with content produced by The New York Times.
Very interesting, Max!