Original: Nanshan Xiaowandou
On the morning of March 29, 2020, at 10:59 am Beijing time, @CCTV News Weibo released a sensational "news": #US Scientists Claim Wuhan is Not the Origin of the Coronavirus#.
Even without looking at the specific content, just these keywords are enough to attract attention. Currently, this Weibo post has over 26 million reads, 640,000 likes, 23,000 comments, and 23,000 shares, showing how much some people like this kind of "news," just like when Colonel Dai Xu of the National Defense University discovered a "world-class problem" yesterday, which made some people excited. For Colonel Dai's discovery, please click to read: "Russia Just Blamed Aliens, but This Professor from the National Defense University Brought It Back to the US Aircraft Carrier."
The "news" claims that a recent study conducted by American scientists on the latest coronavirus shows that this virus, which has caused a global pandemic, is naturally occurring. According to evidence analysis published in the scientific journal "Nature Medicine," the study indicates that the coronavirus "was not constructed in a laboratory and is not a purposefully manipulated virus." Although many people believe that the virus originated from a seafood market in Wuhan, China, one of the authors of the paper, Professor Robert Garry from the Tulane University School of Medicine, said, "Our analysis, as well as other analyses, points to an earlier origin than that. There were definitely cases there, but it is not the origin of the virus." http://t.cn/A6Zcslbh (CCTV reporter Liu Xiaoqian)
This is really something. However, after reading the English introduction of the related research, it was found that the study mainly proved two points:
- The virus did not come from a laboratory but from nature.
- The virus did not come from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan.
Looking carefully, there is indeed an English interview with Robert F. Garry, one of the authors of the paper, by the American Broadcasting Company ABC, which states:
And while many believe the virus originated at a fish market in Wuhan, China, Garry said that is also a misconception.
"Our analyses, and others too, point to an earlier origin than that," Garry said, "There were definitely cases there, but that wasn't the origin of the virus."
Translated into Chinese, it would be something like this:
Although many people believe the virus originated from a seafood market in Wuhan, China, Garry said that is also a misconception. "Our analysis, like others, points to an earlier origin than that. There were definitely cases there (at the seafood market), but it is not the origin of the virus."
It turns out that CCTV interpreted the statement of American scientist Garry, who said that a seafood market in Wuhan, China, is definitely not the origin of the coronavirus, as American scientists claiming that Wuhan is definitely not the origin of the coronavirus.
This interpretation completely changes the meaning of Garry's statement, turning it from a normal piece of information into a sensational "news."
If Garry knew about this interpretation by CCTV, he would either be extremely frustrated or just smile and say nothing.
It is worth mentioning that in the comments section of the related Weibo posts, the most shared comment has already pointed out the mistake, but there has been no correction from CCTV News. This reminds me of the time when a batch of donations came from the United States, but the direct sponsor of the supplies, the American charity organization Direct Relief, was not mentioned. Even after readers clearly pointed out the mistake, the related Weibo posts remained unchanged.
Here, I want to praise the editors of Chang'an Street Governor, a publication under the Beijing Daily. In my article "Why I Don't Believe You, Today's Information is an Example," I pointed out that they were misleading by using words like "Chinese virus" to incite racist sentiments, while the accompanying image was from a few years ago showing Chinese Americans fighting for equal admission rights to universities in the United States. Afterwards, their editor immediately contacted me and said they had added a pinned correction in the comments section.
In comparison, CCTV News Weibo, which has a bigger reputation and more resources, not only repeatedly makes major mistakes but also repeatedly ignores the feedback from the public.
What are the editors of CCTV News Weibo thinking?
What is even more thought-provoking is that the comments below the related Weibo posts are full of accusations and mockery towards the United States or President Trump. There are even many seemingly "reasonable" and "in-depth analyses."
As I have told everyone before, logical training is very important. Even if there are indeed American scientists claiming that Wuhan is not the origin of the coronavirus, from a logical perspective, it can only mean that these scientists believe that the virus may have originated from somewhere other than Wuhan. This other place could be somewhere in the United States, somewhere else in China outside of Wuhan, or somewhere outside of China and the United States.
Every day, there are strange "big news" and "major discoveries," and the publishers of these information have big names. I really wonder where the problem lies.
Can you tell me, dear readers?
Also, let me inform you that now there are various marketing accounts that use patriotism as a guise to deceive patriotic people, and they are hyping up another "big news," which goes something like this: "Legal experts remind: Donating to the United States, please be aware of the risk of legal lawsuits! Chinese companies have lost over 2 billion!" This is also a half-truth and nonsense, but unfortunately, related articles are spreading freely across the internet.