In case you missed the stupidest story in journalism last night:

I’m totally serious. Here’s the story:

An Arizona man has died after ingesting chloroquine phosphate — believing it would protect him from becoming infected with the coronavirus. The man’s wife also ingested the substance and is under critical care.

[…]

The name “chloroquine” resonated with the man’s wife, who asked that her name not be used to protect the family’s privacy. She’d used it previously to treat her koi fish.

“I was in the pantry stacking dog food and I just saw it sitting in the back shelf and thought, ‘Hey, isn’t that the stuff they’re talking about on TV?’ And it was.”

The couple — both in their 60s and potentially at higher risk for complications of the virus — decided to mix a small amount of the substance with a liquid and drink it as a way to prevent the coronavirus.

“We were afraid of getting sick,” she said.

There’s more:

“Oh my God. Don’t take anything. Don’t believe anything. Don’t believe anything that the President says and his people because they don’t know what they’re talking about. And don’t take anything—be so careful and call your doctor. This is a heartache I’ll never get over.”

NBC and Forbes took this as a cudgel to Trump and Trump voters. The easier and more responsible way of covering it would have been to use it as a warning sign of what not to do. Petty political grudges can’t be placed aside during a pandemic, it seems.

Bonus: Uh oh