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MSNBC host Chris Hayes was quickly fact checked Sunday after denouncing Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) for referring to coronavirus as the "Wuhan Virus."
Gosar announced Sunday that he was officially undergoing self-quarantine after possible exposure to the coronavirus at CPAC last month.
"Just astoundingly gross to call it the Wuhan Virus," Hayes said.
Just astoundingly gross to call it the Wuhan Virus. https://t.co/cMrsA59xTH— Chris Hayes (@Chris Hayes) 1583718042.0
The insinuation, which was fleshed out by Hayes's MSNBC colleague David Gura, is that referring to coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus" is racist.
FYI: Calling #COVID19 the "Wuhan Virus" is racist.— David Gura (@David Gura) 1583718177.0
But, in fact, the coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan, China. The city of 11 million was also hardest hit by the disease, resulting in the Chinese government essentially locking down the city from the outside world.
What was the response?
Critics pointed out to Hayes that China, in fact, refers to coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus."
@chrislhayes Is it also astoundingly gross when Chinese in Asia call it the Wuhan Virus? https://t.co/oTsTl4ZFpN— Ian Miles Cheong (@Ian Miles Cheong) 1583719577.0
Others highlighted the fact that well-known infectious diseases are typically named in relation to their origin.
Is it, though? Ebola was named for a river in the Congo. Zika, for a forest in Uganda. Lyme disease for Lyme, Conne… https://t.co/6TnC3EwCN0— Angela Morabito (@Angela Morabito) 1583719438.0
-Norovirus/Norwalk, Ohio -West Nile Virus -German Measles -Ross River Fever/river in Australia -Omsk Hemorrhagic Fe… https://t.co/qEs0gj7RSU— Ryan Saavedra (@Ryan Saavedra) 1583723925.0
It was also pointed out that American media outlets, like CNN and NBC, have referred to coronavirus as "Wuhan virus."
You work for a racist company https://t.co/EQ1AaC7Hvy https://t.co/LKyDBIUBGn— Reagan Battalion (@Reagan Battalion) 1583723098.0
F.Y.I CNN has been using the term #WuhanVirus since Jan 24th https://t.co/KaiwegaFpW— @cryptocrypto (@@cryptocrypto) 1583755230.0
Those in the media have been the ones calling it "the Wuhan virus/coronavirus" for weeks, so I guess they were bein… https://t.co/DOCaBNNtKx— Julio Rosas (@Julio Rosas) 1583758807.0
Meanwhile, Hayes's critics also showed that he has recent history of geographically referring to disease outbreaks.
@chrislhayes https://t.co/vyf5SlzvpR— KarmaDog (@KarmaDog) 1583719568.0
By Monday morning, "#WuhanVirus" was trending on social media.
