真相放大镜｜ “种族歧视”比“病毒”更可怕

新型冠状病毒向我们证明了种族主义依然存在。当我们浏览社交媒体上的新闻，很明显，疫情正在带来一些最糟心的信息。据报道，针对亚裔的歧视出现在美国，加拿大和欧洲某些国家；商店挂出了拒绝中国顾客的招牌，一份将这种病毒命名为“Kung Flu”的网上请愿书迄今已吸引了近2.5万个签名。在本期的《真相放大镜》节目中，我们将探究为什么反亚洲情绪在新爆发的疫情中蔓延得如此之快、如此之远。
The novel coronavirus is proving that racism is alive and well. Scroll down your social media feeds or browse through news headlines and it's evident that the outbreak is bringing out the worst in some. Instances of discrimination against Asians and people of Asian descent are being reported in the U.S., Canada and across the pond; shops are putting up signs turning away Chinese customers and an online petition to name the virus "Kung Flu" has attracted almost 25,000 signatures so far. In this episode of Facts Tell, we explore why anti-Asian sentiment is spreading fast and far amid the new outbreak.

新型冠状病毒正在世界范围内散布恐惧和忧虑,在某些地区，种族主义正在抬头。一些外国人把中国人，甚至整个亚洲群体视为疾病的传播者，认为他们的饮食习惯让人无法接受。

这不是偶然。

某些人的焦虑和偏见将疫情错误定性，而一些误解使该病毒更加种族化。

The new coronavirus is spreading fear and concern around the world and in some places, racism is rearing its ugly head. Chinese people, and Asians at large, are now perceived as disease carriers by some foreigners, and their dietary habits are on the chopping block.

This is not by accident.

Some people's anxieties and biases have mischaracterized the outbreak, and misinformation is racializing the virus even more.

The outbreak was initially traced back to a seafood market in the city of Wuhan in central China where some vendors were illegally selling wild animals. 

Scientists then theorized that the new coronavirus could be linked to bats. Both findings are still inconclusive but many were quick to put two and two together.

Undated clips like these began to make the rounds online, feeding the discourse that Chinese people brought the disease upon themselves.

One specific video found infamy.

This is Chinese vlogger Wang Mengyun and she bit into a bat on camera. It was just what some people needed to pin the onset of the outbreak onto Chinese eating practices, even though the clip eventually turned out to be taken out of context.

Wang explained that the footage goes back to 2016, and that the bats weren't served in China, but in Palau, a Pacific island country where fruit bat soup is something of a specialty.

不仅仅是偏见造成的认知偏差，媒体报道措辞不当也有影响。

有轰动效果的新闻头条将疫情和病毒起源联系起来，将疫情定性为中国事件，激发了种族主义敌对幻想，这些戏剧性的谣言传播广泛。

不完整的信息，抨击的评论和博人眼球的标题，在现实世界中会造成严重后果。

It's not just misinformation that's fanning the flames of xenophobia. Poor choices of words in the media are also playing a role. Sensational headlines are associating the outbreak with where it originated from, framing it as a China thing and giving ammo to antagonistic sentiments. 

These dramatic misnomers are thriving partly because for the longest time, the disease did not have a proper name. We now know the new coronavirus disease as COVID-19 and having an official designation is a big deal.

Damaging information, offensive comments and clickbait headlines are having real-world consequences.

In Italy, Chinese tourists were reportedly spat on. 

"No Chinese" signs were put up outside shops in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. 

Over New York, police are asking for the public's help to identify the man in this alleged subway attack on an Asian woman wearing a mask.

It's just a fraction of the numerous documented racial abuse cases and instances of discrimination against Chinese and anyone deemed “Chinese looking” since the outbreak – a sobering reminder that racism spreads faster than any virus.

A sobering reminder that racism spreads faster than any virus.

这令我们警醒，种族主义的传播比任何病毒都快。

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