For most of 2020 the US gov (and much of the media) emphasized covid being not only from China but "a China virus". They never rejected or downplayed the basele

For most of 2020 the US gov (and much of the media) emphasized covid being not only from China but "a China virus". They never rejected or downplayed the baseless conspiracy theories that it was man made or a deliberate attack by the Chinese. The US actively promoted the equally baseless fear of espionage through tiktok or wechat (lmao) to the point of trying to ban these apps. Rather than quell peoples' fears and doubts in the midst of a national crisis, fuel was added to the fire. And now the xenophobia is in full force.