Chinese journalism ‘coronavirus crisis hero’ comes under attack online
- Reporter applauded for frontline efforts becomes target of backlash over ‘whistle-blower’ story
Liao took the stage as a representative of the media, alongside two women frontline medical personnel, an NGO worker, a women’s federation official and a cleaner – all described as heroes in the battle against coronavirus.
“We must use our pens and cameras as weapons to tell stories about China’s morale and power out loud to the world,” Liao said.
Angry Chinese netizens later pointed out that Liao wrote a much-discussed story in January about eight people being reprimanded by local police for “spreading rumours” about the virus. Like many other stories by Chinese state media, it only cited official sources, including the local police, which were quoted as warning the public against “spreading rumours”.
The article repeated the official line from health authorities that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission.