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COVID racism driven by more than fear of infection

Phys · · 548 words · By Murdoch University
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What to know about COVID racism driven by more than fear of infection

The article discusses research from Murdoch University indicating that anger, rather than just fear of infection, was a primary psychological driver for aggressive anti-Asian discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Amy Lim explains that social narratives and political discourse can activate this anger when a group is perceived as a threat.

Propaganda risk 10%
Claims checked 5
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

COVID racism driven by more than fear of infection Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor Anti-Asian discrimination and violence increased during COVID, and new research from Murdoch University has revealed one key psychological driver.

Why it matters

Rather than being driven by a fear of infection, aggressive forms of discrimination appeared to be more strongly associated with anger.

Common ground

Amy Lim from Murdoch University's School of Psychology said that while concerns about infection might explain why people avoid those they perceive to be infectious, this explanation does not fully account for the rise in aggressive anti-Asian responses during…

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

The article discusses research from Murdoch University indicating that anger, rather than just fear of infection, was a primary psychological driver for aggressive anti-Asian discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Amy Lim explains that social narratives and political discourse can activate this anger when a group is perceived as a threat.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-covid-racism-driven-infection.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 5 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 3
verified Verified By Reference 2
info
Claim 1: “Amy J. Lim et al, Pathogen avoidance versus anger: the motivation underlying Asian hate, The Journal of Social Psychology (2026). DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2026.2662951”
SINGLE SOURCE
Web search results confirm the existence of the paper and authors (Amy Lim et al.). However, the provided snippets do not confirm the publication year as 2026 or the specific DOI provided. Since 2026 is a future date relative to standard training and current real-time contexts, and the snippet doesn't verify it, it cannot be corroborated by multiple sources.
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web search NEUTRAL — Keywords: Pathogen Avoidance, Anger, Asian Hate, Discrimination, COVID-19.Lim, Amy and Ko, Nicole and Yong, Jose and Tan, Edison and Li, Zhenhong, Pathogen Avoidance Versus Anger: The Motivation Under…
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4166683
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web search NEUTRAL — This paper presents the Situational Pathogen Avoidance (SPA) scale, which assesses situational variability in pathogen avoidance, especially as it pertains to avoidance of social stimuli.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362776629_Pathogen_…
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web search NEUTRAL — Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy argues that "power posing" -- standing in...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc
info
Claim 2: “The research, "Pathogen avoidance versus anger: the motivation underlying Asian hate," is published in the Journal of Social Psychology.”
SINGLE SOURCE
A web search result confirms the existence of a paper titled 'Pathogen Avoidance Versus Anger: The Motivation Underlying Asian Hate' by Amy Lim et al. However, the evidence does not explicitly name the 'Journal of Social Psychology' as the publisher in the snippet; it only lists the title and authors. The Wikipedia entries provided are for the 'Asian Journal of Social Psychology' and 'Journal of Personality and Social Psychology', which are different journals.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Asian Journal of Social Psychology (AJSP) is a monthly psychology journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal is published in conjunction with the Asian Association of Social Psychology and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Journal_of_Social_Psycho…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Psychological Association that was established in 1965. It covers the fields of s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal_of_Personality_and_Soc…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This list presents a selection of journals in the field of psychology and its branches.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_psychology_journals
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 3: “aggressive forms of discrimination appeared to be more strongly associated with anger [than fear of infection]”
SINGLE SOURCE
While a web search result mentions a paper titled 'Pathogen Avoidance Versus Anger: The Motivation Underlying Asian Hate' which discusses these variables, the provided evidence snippets do not contain the specific finding that aggressive discrimination was more strongly associated with anger than fear. The evidence confirms the existence of the study but not the specific conclusion of the claim.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A variety of unfounded conspiracy theories and other misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines have spread based on misunderstood or misrepresented science, religion, and law. These have included exagger…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_vaccine_misinformatio…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been efforts by scientists, governments, and others to determine the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Similar to other outbreaks, the virus was …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_SARS-CoV-2
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The House COVID-19 outbreak was a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 infections that began in September 2020 and ended in January 2021 that spread among people, including many U.S. government officials, who were i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_COVID-19_outbreak
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 4: “Anti-Asian discrimination and violence increased during COVID”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Multiple Wikipedia entries and web search results explicitly state that the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in Sinophobia, prejudice, discrimination, and violence against Asian people.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Starting in January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Protests, demonstrations and strikes occurred around the world against national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by governmental bodies. Some were driven by the financial hardship resulting from gov…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_responses_to_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The COVID-19 pandemic was first reported in the city of Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019. The origins of the virus have subsequently led to an increase in acts and displays of sinophobia, as well…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia_and_racism_related_…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 5: “The study found differences in mean levels of anger between Caucasian participants in the United States and Australia, with anger levels higher among American participants than Australian participants.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence includes general information about Caucasians in the US and Australia and a mention of the study's title, but none of the evidence snippets contain the specific data or findings regarding mean levels of anger between US and Australian participants.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Caucasian race (also Caucasoid, Europid, or Europoid) is an obsolete racial classification of humans based on a now-disproven theory of biological race. The Caucasian race was historically regarde…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_race
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — White Americans (sometimes called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on America…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Americans
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — White Hispanic and Latino Americans, also called Euro-Hispanics, Euro-Latinos, White Hispanics, or White Latinos, are Americans who identify as white people of European descent with roots in Spain or …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Hispanic_and_Latino_Amer…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.