A top World Health Organization official promoted a report from a website that traffics in conspiracy theories to bolster China's false claim that the communist regime was the first to report the existence of the coronavirus.
Max Blumenthal is known for his pro-Iran, anti-Israel stance, and his website routinely publishes conspiracy theories that adopt China's false rhetoric about the coronavirus pandemic.
The WHO is already under fire from the United States and other nations for its response to the coronavirus pandemic, which they view as overly deferential to China.
Stern's promotion of the article has drawn outrage in Congress, where China hawks see the international organization as doing damage control on behalf of the Communist Party.
The Washington Free Beacon first reported this month that the WHO quietly edited claims on its website that China was first to report the virus, now known to be false.
"I find it deeply disturbing that a top WHO spokesperson would share a ridiculous conspiracy theory aimed at the US and Taiwan from an outlet that has defended Hezbollah, attempted to rationalize the CCP's abuses against the Uyghurs, and propagated anti-Semitic content," Rep. Michael McCaul, lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of Congress's China Task Force, told the Free Beacon on Tuesday.
An April 1 article claimed the "U.S. pushes conspiracy theory on China's coronavirus death toll to deflect from Trump administration failures." The article defends China against accusations it covered up the virus, saying such accusations are part of an "Effort to redirect American outrage onto a foreign bogeyman." It further alleges that China never hid its death toll from the world, despite reports from dissidents and others that the Communist Party imprisoned scientists and others who spoke out about the pandemic.
Max Blumenthal is known for his pro-Iran, anti-Israel stance, and his website routinely publishes conspiracy theories that adopt China's false rhetoric about the coronavirus pandemic.
The WHO is already under fire from the United States and other nations for its response to the coronavirus pandemic, which they view as overly deferential to China.
Stern's promotion of the article has drawn outrage in Congress, where China hawks see the international organization as doing damage control on behalf of the Communist Party.
The Washington Free Beacon first reported this month that the WHO quietly edited claims on its website that China was first to report the virus, now known to be false.
"I find it deeply disturbing that a top WHO spokesperson would share a ridiculous conspiracy theory aimed at the US and Taiwan from an outlet that has defended Hezbollah, attempted to rationalize the CCP's abuses against the Uyghurs, and propagated anti-Semitic content," Rep. Michael McCaul, lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of Congress's China Task Force, told the Free Beacon on Tuesday.
An April 1 article claimed the "U.S. pushes conspiracy theory on China's coronavirus death toll to deflect from Trump administration failures." The article defends China against accusations it covered up the virus, saying such accusations are part of an "Effort to redirect American outrage onto a foreign bogeyman." It further alleges that China never hid its death toll from the world, despite reports from dissidents and others that the Communist Party imprisoned scientists and others who spoke out about the pandemic.
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