Photo: NYT

A picture in a recent story by the New York Times on China’s vaccination campaign among children was widely criticized by netizens on Monday night, as it showed a crying child with a dramatized facial expression, reflecting US media bias and efforts to defame China’s efforts in fighting the epidemic, some netizens said. 

While some netizens expressed their dissatisfaction and anger at the photo, others said that such coverage would frighten more foreigners, especially children overseas who might be too scared to take the jabs, which may further hinder the mass inoculation drive. 

“I’m wondering about the choice of picture here… sort of demonizing the act of vaccinating kids. Let’s remember our children get many vaccines that protect them from serious diseases. Let’s dial it down a little…” a netizen with the name of “Car Roll Inn” said in a post on Facebook. 

It’s not just the pictures that are shocking and uncomfortable, but the narrative too. As one Twitter user put it, words like “war” and “warriors” imply an exaggerated and aggressive tone for the story, adding to the concerns and worries of the parents and alluding to unscrupulous efforts to vaccinate children. In this bizarre article, it talks about an “authoritarian regime” forcing children to be vaccinated.

In absurd contrast, a lot of people found another report by the paper on October 29 that described vaccinations of American children not only with a more normal photo but also with a caption saying that the shot could “bring relief to parents.” This makes it clear to see how Western media use rhetoric and prejudiced views to shape opinions.

Many people criticized the photo as inappropriate and derided the New York Times’ biased reporting. With more netizens calling for the picture to be replaced, the photo was changed one day after the backlash began, although no explanation was offered.

In another example, Getty Images’ picture catalogue has some similar pictures showing a crying child during the vaccination process in China. However, pictures showing the children’s vaccination campaign in the US featured children with peaceful facial expressions.