President Donald Trump, his administration, and his allies continue to accuse the media of promoting hysteria even as the pandemic that has taken over the United States claims over 93,000 cases and 1,400 deaths.
Of course, the virus does not discriminate according to party or ideology, and so inevitably it is bound to victimize those who have parroted the line from the President and his administration that the media is blowing the pandemic out of proportion.
One such man, Virginia pastor and musician Landon Spradlin, sadly passed away of the virus on March 25 in a North Carolina hospital—two weeks after sharing a Facebook meme that accused the media of "mass hysteria" while comparing the number of deaths from the current pandemic to the deaths from the H1N1 flu, which occurred during the Obama administration.
Spradlin said in a comment on the post that while the virus was real, the main issue was that
"...the media is pumping out fear and doing more harm than good."
Heartbreakingly, Spradlin's daughter, Judah Strickland, wasn't able to say goodbye to him due to precautions taken by healthcare workers to avoid possible contagion.
Strickland said:
"I said 'look, I haven't seen my dad in almost six weeks. Please let me go see him. And she [hospital worker] said 'look under any other circumstances we would, but this is uncharted territory for us.'"
Many laid the blame for Spradlin's death squarely at the feet of certain lawmakers and media entities.
@realDonaldTrump Start a list of the people you have personally killed with your lies. https://t.co/P502ehmopz— Richard Adams (@Richard Adams) 1585253629.0
On March 13, Pastor Landon Spradlin shared this post suggesting #COVID19 is a hoax. On March 24th he died of that h… https://t.co/2wiOictaeq— Keenan Cobb 🧢📸 🎗 (@Keenan Cobb 🧢📸 🎗) 1585244445.0
some hoax, eh @realDonaldTrump. Please resign and let someone who knows what to do in a crisis take over.… https://t.co/ISth3U8fE8— Orange, Not just for juice anymore (@Orange, Not just for juice anymore) 1585257800.0
@realDonaldTrump This is on YOU!! #TrumpLiesPeopleDie https://t.co/4fbFAjtaaf— 🏰Cam🏰 (@🏰Cam🏰) 1585253542.0
@kurteichenwald I blame Trump and FOX news - these are his people, FOX is their news outlet. Had a truthful message… https://t.co/5aOlIYJNIp— Eileen Montrose (@Eileen Montrose) 1585252855.0
Sadly he will be the first of many. This is not a hoax. It's not just the flu. People who believe Trump's lies are… https://t.co/ikszQYpFCi— 🌊 Shane 🌊 🆘️🇺🇸😷 (@🌊 Shane 🌊 🆘️🇺🇸😷) 1585261274.0
People mourned the life that may have been preserved had those in power communicated accurate information.
@kurteichenwald I’m so sorry to hear this. And so sorry for his family. I hope they’re ok and don’t have the virus.… https://t.co/tIwqPRQ44Y— Susan - Lives depend on taking COVID-19 Seriously. (@Susan - Lives depend on taking COVID-19 Seriously.) 1585253242.0
It's a shame and might have been prevented. WWJD https://t.co/NoyAMWeGkA— Uh Huh (@Uh Huh) 1585274307.0
Very sad. https://t.co/9tNAZBr9eq— TarheelHeart (@TarheelHeart) 1585253446.0
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Spradlin's family. You can donate to it here.