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Report Shows Anti-Asian Bias Rose After Media and Officials Used “China Virus”

A new study has found that the use of the term “China Virus” in the media and by officials has contributed to the increase in anti-Asian bias, NBC News reports.

The study entitled, “After ‘The China Virus’ Went Viral,” found that while anti-Asian bias had been steadily declining for the past decade, the trend reversed on March 8 after the introduction of discriminatory coronavirus speech.

The study found that from 2007 to 2020 the subconscious belief that White Americans were more “American” than Asian Americans had been steadily declining. But on March 8, the day Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., tweeted about the “Wuhan virus,” anti-Asian bias began rising again.

According to the research, which was published in the journal Health Education & Behavior, there was a 650 percent increase in Twitter retweets using the term “Chinese virus” and similar language after Rep. Gosar’s comments. A day after his tweet, anti-Asian coronavirus rhetoric increased amongst conservative media outlets by 800 percent.

The trend reversal could undo at least three years of steady decline in bias.

“Progress against bias is generally stable,” one of the study’s researcher, Eli Michaels, told NBC News. “But this particular rhetoric, which associates a racial group with a global pandemic, has particularly pernicious effects.”

The study found that anti-Asian bias increased in some groups more than others.

“Conservative individuals, who are more likely to consume media that utilized stigmatizing terminology, saw a larger trend shift,” Michaels explained.

The increase in anti-Asian bias has had a significant impact on the Asian American community. STOP AAPI Hate, an organization created in response to the rising anti-Asian rhetoric during the pandemic, recorded 2,583 incidents of hate and discrimination across the U.S between March 19 and August 5, 2020, Teen Vogue reports.

Mental health in the Asian American community has also suffered as a result. A study based in Maryland found that mental health among Chinese American families has been negatively impacted by anti-Asian racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Government officials and media outlets have continued to use terms like “China virus” and “Wuhan virus” despite warnings that such rhetoric would increase anti-Asian bias and hate. The State Department, led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has also frequently blamed the Chinese Communist Party for the virus’ spread, according to The Hill.

Researchers told NBC News that the use of such language must end for anti-Asian bias to begin declining again.

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