No Shame: 4 Ways the U.S. is Using COVID-19 to Push Imperialist Propaganda

by Kendrick Thomas

Published -

The imperialists have no shame. They are treating the coronavirus outbreak as a geopolitical scare tactic. What started off as a deadly virus has now become a tool to spread imperialist propaganda.

4. The United States is threatening to sue pharmaceutical companies for sending coronavirus testing kits to Iran

     Legislators from both major political parties vote in favor of sanctions against Iran even though sanctions are keeping life saving medicines from entering the country. American politicians happily go home to their more than $100,000 salaries and taxpayer funded health care after voting to keep Iranian children from having medicine.

    Politicians usually justify sanctions against Iran by saying they are trying to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear threat, but it’s hypocritical for the U.S. to ban Iran from having nuclear weapons when the U.S. has more than any country in the world. The U.S. currently is doing military exercises on Iran’s borders. Sanctions against Iran’s pharmaceutical sector isn’t related to nuclear weapon development so there really is no valid excuse. The sanctions are a last ditch effort to persuade Iranians to blame their own government for lacking the means to solve a health crisis in their country. The U.S. ruling class is in favor of sanctions because every other imperialist trick has failed. One American CEO of a D.C. think tank went on Twitter and bragged about the coronavirus having the potential to damage Iran’s economy.

Screenshot of a tweet sharing an article discussing the impact of COVID-19 on Iran's economy.
Screenshot of a tweet sharing an article discussing the impact of COVID-19 on Iran’s economy.

    In response, Iran has began mass producing their own coronavirus testing kits. American citizens have the right to demand that their legislators stop supporting sanctions if they want their support.

3. Mainstream media is accusing Chinese authorities of intentionally covering up info about the coronavirus while Chinese citizens died.

     US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and media outlets like the NY Post are accusing China of forcing scientists to not tell the public about the coronavirus. This scenario sounds like something an evil villain would do, just sit back and watch people dying and intentionally do nothing to stop it. This is reminiscent of Old Hollywood movies about the Chinese being sneaky and evil just for the sake of being sneaky and evil.

    China responded to these lies by building an enormous hospital in just 10 days. Not only that, China has been treating patients that are suffering from the virus for a much lower cost than the u.s. The u.s. is charging $3,000.

2. So many racist undertones

    Every time a disease outbreak occurs, U.S. media associates the disease with nonwhite people, usually nonwhite people from Africa, Latin America, or Asia. This promotes the stereotype that nonwhite foreigners are dirty and disease ridden. After the coronavirus outbreak started, the media started nitpicking at Chinese culture and food. The Chinese started getting accused by CNN and Fox News of causing the outbreak because of Chinese people eating snakes.

    Corporate media is so pervasive that their imperialist propaganda spreads faster than the truth. When the truth was reported about how the coronavirus can actually be spread, the lie about Chinese people’s eating habits being the reason the disease is spreading had already been repeated by popular news outlets. The truth is that if the disease spreads in the U.S. it will be because Americans are not washing their hands thoroughly. That is more accurate than the reports about the virus spreading because Chinese people eat snakes or because an American touched a product that was made in China.

1. Mainstream news said North Korea killed a person for being infected with coronavirus

     This story is being reported by the New York Post and the International Business Times as factual despite having no reliable sources. This can be added to the exhaustive list of outlandish things the DPRK gets accused of.

    Most of the governments that are often attacked by imperialist propaganda in colonial media are simply trying to help other countries. Governments are helping other governments and keeping each other informed about the disease. Iran’s Press TV, China’s People Daily, and the DPRK’s Pyongyang Times consistently give updates about the coronavirus every day. They are informing their viewers about where the illness is expected to spread and how many people are dying from it. They’re even reporting on how the illness is hurting U.S. citizens.

     China has sent medical supplies to help Iran. Cuba sent antiviral medicine to help China. They’re not using this outbreak to intensify political conflict with other governments and cultures. Governments all over the globe are showing solidarity while US leaders and media antagonize other countries. American corporate media is showing the world that the U.S. and its allies are the biggest warmongers, racists, murderers, and liars.

    Meanwhile, at least 40 million Americans are living in extreme poverty and lack sufficient healthcare. They are already suffering from other illnesses. The US elite is not concerned about this, they’re more concerned with spreading imperialist propaganda.

     If the U.S. was truly a democracy, its leaders would be putting all its resources towards finding solutions to the world’s problems, not adding to them. As people do what they can to stay coronavirus free, they should also do their best to avoid blatant imperialist lies surrounding the pandemic.

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