Please don't. I know it doesn't feel this way, but replying is worse than the original comment.

If people follow the site guidelines and flag such provocations without replying, the thread grounds out. By feeding it, you furnish a circuit and all the current necessary for a prolonged electrocution.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Understood, thanks for taking the time to explain.

Appreciated!

"Don't feed egregious comments by replying; flag them instead."

a.k.a. Please don't feed the you know what.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

The "virus brought in by foreign soldiers during 2019 Military World Games" is a widely used narrative in government of China propaganda.

It's understandable that many people believe it.

It's not just paid trolls ("wumao") who believe this, but even normal people are susceptible to spreading such falsehoods.