Coronavirus is platformed across many media platforms, receiving hours of news coverage. By March 11, around 81,000 cases in China were verified by authorities. In the last few weeks, the epidemic turned into a pandemic, spreading internationally. Now, countries such as Italy and Spain are in lockdown. Because the pandemic originated in China, there are stigmas around Asian citizens across the world.

Social media platforms have streamed videos and photos of hate crimes and racial insults against Asians, specifically on public transportation. These types of cases have been seen in the UK and in the United States since the coronavirus has spread internationally. Many of these hate crimes are not touching the surfaces of news platforms, but with the help of social media, evidence of Xenophobia has been brought to the public eye.

“Huge nationwide networks, like CNN or Fox News, should cover more cases of attacks because people need to become more aware of the violence many Asian Americans and Asian citizens of other countries are experiencing right now,” sophomore Zoe Hall said.

Graphic content of the hate crimes against the Asian community in America has been posted by accounts on social media and by accounts of news platforms. Buzzfeed News is a prime example of one of these platforms. A post by Buzzfeed News that received 40,495 likes on Instagram, shows pictures of an Asian student brutally beaten in London. Besides the aggravated assault, he was taunted by the group of men with phrases such as, “I don’t want your coronavirus in my country”.

“These attacks are very violent,” junior Kierre Rodriguez said. “It’s absolutely heartbreaking.”

Politics are being questioned if it’s a trigger for these hate crimes. President Donald Trump has labeled the coronavirus as “foreign” and “Chinese virus”. Trump sustains negative criticism after labeling the pandemic instead of upbringing communication across our nation.

“All that happened is that COVID-19 is presumed to have started in Wuhan, China. Where it originated should have zero impact on how it should be treated, which is the important thing here,” Rodriguez said. “The fact remains that it is on our soil now and therefore it is our virus to manage, not a “Chinese” virus.”