Aaron Blake from the Fix division of the Washington Post, second to none when it comes to media gaslighting over the Trump administration, ran a piece titled ‘Before the White House and Trump allies blamed China for coronavirus, Trump vouched for China — repeatedly’. Blake’s editorial line here suggests that China is not to blame for the origins of the virus: he opens his piece by writing that ‘President Trump, the White House and their allies are increasingly on a blame-China footing in the fight against the coronavirus. They’re stoking nationalism by emphasizing the country where the virus originated, calling it the “Wuhan virus” lodging conspiracy theories about it being deliberately weaponized and accusing the Chinese of a coverup.’

Would Blake’s words sound any different if they had been penned by the Chinese government themselves? There are inconvenient facts Blake and his newspaper, for whatever reason, have chosen to overlook. First, the virus did originate in Wuhan. Second, Blake ignores that it’s Chinese officials pointing the finger at the United States, claiming America weaponized the virus against China. Third, and most important, the Chinese did engage in a cover up to conceal the spread and lethality of the virus. Dr Li Wenliang, who himself died of COVID-19, alleged he was silenced as he attempted to warn the Western media of the virus and the PRC’s role in covering up the spread. He was detained by state medical officials and police where he was forced to sign a statement declaring his comments were unfounded rumor. Aaron Blake and his editors at the Washington Post took no notice of any of this.