Sunday, March 15, 2020 | 2 a.m.
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In the battle against COVID-19, Fox News personalities and other extremist right-wing commentators pose a public threat. They’re putting people at risk by spreading outrageous conspiracy theories, downplaying the dangers of the disease and offering bogus cures or medical advice.
The extreme-right media apparatus leans hard into wild speculation and lies. Examples abound:
• Rush Limbaugh falsely asserted the coronavirus was nothing more serious than the common cold, and propagated a debunked claim that the virus was created in a biolab for use as a weapon.
• InfoWars founder and snake-oil salesman Alex Jones recently hawked a silver-infused toothpaste as a phony cure for COVID-19 on his talk radio program.
• Sean Hannity used his own talk radio show to fuel a conspiracy theory that the outbreak is a deep state “fraud” designed to create social chaos and disrupt the economy.
• A local columnist for Sheldon Adelson who is an apologist for President Donald Trump tweeted a false claim that the disease could be killed with nothing more than Vitamin C and the same type of silver product that Jones was selling.
This isn’t just journalistic malpractice. It’s dangerous behavior.
In any crisis, reliable information is paramount — and that is a particular failing of the lie-a-minute Trump administration. Spreading untruths and myths about the disease obstructs efforts to slow the disease and protect the public.
The misinformation/disinformation coming from these media personalities jeopardizes a population that is particularly vulnerable to the disease — the elderly. The audiences for such programs tend to skew older, and Limbaugh and those like him know it.
COVID-19 is a rapidly spreading disease that is significantly more deadly than the average flu. It is not the common cold by any stretch, and there is no vaccine for it.
It is not a bioengineered weapon. The coronavirus cannot be killed or prevented by some over-the-counter cocktail of medications and dietary supplements like Jones’ silver products. In fact, federal agencies have added the silver supplements to a list of products being fraudulently marketed as cures or preventive measures for COVID-19.
The disease has spread organically, and the outbreak was not a plot concocted by Trump’s political opponents to weaken his chances for re-election.
It is a public health crisis that requires an urgent and informed response by the government, informed behavior by the public and helpful efforts by the media.
There are actions Americans can take to counter the voices disseminating falsehoods about the disease.
They can urge the sponsors of Fox News and other right-wing media to demand that their advertising dollars not be used to harm the public with lies. They can request that any business or office that shows such programs in waiting rooms or other public areas switch to something else. They can inform themselves of the science and encourage others to do the same.
By understanding the virus and knowing how we can slow the spread of the disease, Americans can literally help save lives. Truth, facts and appropriate actions also will hasten the end of this horrible event. By contrast, treating it cavalierly and dismissing its dangers puts people in danger, shreds normal life and tests the economy with unprecedented risk.
The lies coming from the extreme right should be treated as a threat. These commentators may not be spreading the disease physically, but they’re creating a media petri dish where it can flourish.
