Fox News is downplaying the coronavirus even though its older audience is more vulnerable to the virus Some of the most prominent right-wing media personalities are downplaying the threat posed by the Wuhan coronavirus and accusing Democrats of exaggerating the crisis to score political points. The Fox News hosts' comments echo the White House's talking points and the president accused Democrats and the media of intentionally "panicking" the stock market about the virus to undermine him. But Fox's message is particularly dangerous for its viewers, who skew older and are thus more vulnerable to the effects of the virus, which US health officials say is poised to spread across the US. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . Some of President Donald Trump's most vocal supporters in right-wing media are downplaying the threat posed by the Wuhan coronavirus and accusing Democrats of overstating the crisis to score political points. Sean Hannity, whose prime-time program is the most watched on Fox News, on Thursday argued that the virus sweeping the globe hasn't yet killed any Americans, and compared it to the seasonal flu, which took 61,000 lives in the US in 2017-2018. (The reported death rate from the novel virus in China is much higher than that of the flu).