Conservative commentator Erick Erickson ripped NBC News and the New York Times for their reporting on Chinese accusations about the coronavirus outbreak, suggesting that they corroborate the belief that the media is “the enemy of the people.”
In a tweet posted on Saturday, Erickson accused the two media outlets of “running Chinese propaganda.”
“Both NBC news and the New York Times are running Chinese propaganda criticizing the United States,” Erickson tweeted. “It is going to be real hard to tell people that our American media is not the enemy of the people when they are so willing to side with an enemy of every people.”
Both NBC news and the New York Times are running Chinese propaganda criticizing the United States. It is going to be real hard to tell people that our American media is not the enemy of the people when they are so willing to side with an enemy of every people.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) March 14, 2020
The remark from Erickson comes after Chinese diplomat Lijian Zhao tweeted that the U.S. military may be responsible for the coronavirus outbreak.
The coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China, and the communist country has been under fire for its early handling of the outbreak, which appears to have contributed to how wide it has now spread.
2/2 CDC was caught on the spot. When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation! pic.twitter.com/vYNZRFPWo3
— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) March 12, 2020
NBC News and the Times were among those who covered the story and Erickson took exception to how their reporting was angled.
The NBC headline stated: “Coronavirus: Chinese official suggests U.S. Army to blame for outbreak.”
In a later tweet, Erickson said: “The communist Chinese have very clearly lied about their COVID-19 contraction and mortality rates. What’s more amazing is certain American media outlets pushing that data to suggest western medicine is inferior to China.”
https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1239287104250818564?s=20
Erickson’s tweet rebuking NBC News and the Times calls to mind an unlikely tweet from Times reporter Elaina Plott about how millions of Americans see the media — not that this view alters coverage or the perception on the left that these supporters are “ten-tooth rubes.”
“Have been talking to lots of Trump supporters across the country these last couple of days, and the disdain for and distrust of the media right now is worse than I’ve seen at any point throughout this presidency,” Plott tweeted on Thursday.
Have been talking to lots of Trump supporters across the country these last couple of days, and the disdain for and distrust of the media right now is worse than I’ve seen at any point throughout this presidency.
— Elaina Plott (@elainaplott) March 12, 2020
While Erickson’s Twitter feed long ago became a toxic wasteland over any number of controversial incidents he has been involved in, there were plenty of responses from social media users who do indeed see the media as the enemy.
Of course, watching our society tilt as Americans in near panic empty grocery store shelves as a result of the media over-hyping COVID-19, over-hyping that may or may not be designed to inflict harm on President Trump, it’s easy to draw that conclusion.
Here’s a sampling of some of the responses from Twitter:
Also, they are the enemy of the United States. Literally this is what the enemy does.
— Optimus Limited (@OptimusLimited) March 14, 2020
Any corporate news is the enemy of the people
— MrGmoney (@MrGmoneygp) March 14, 2020
They *literally* are the enemy of the United States.
— Kate Schmidt (@330_schmidt) March 14, 2020
The media is the enemy of the people. They show us everyday.
— Deni D (@spearsdeni) March 14, 2020
It’s basically treason.
— William Bentley Blackburn (@blackburntek) March 14, 2020
Pushing the great divide at a time when we all have a common enemy. How disappointed am I in our MSM which I used to trust and respect so much.
— Patricia R. Boice (@boicepr) March 14, 2020
Please explain to me how they are NOT the enemy of the people?
— Naturally Contrarian (@Indiana_Patriot) March 14, 2020
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Tom@bizpacreview.com
The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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