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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Where the U.S. Ranks in COVID-19 Deaths Per Capita

Where the U.S. Ranks in COVID-19 Deaths Per Capita

The United States has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 deaths per capita in the world. However, President Donald Trump made the false claim that “Germany and the United States are the two best in deaths per 100,000 people.”

Viral Posts Mislead on COVID-19’s Toll on Health Care Workers

Viral Posts Mislead on COVID-19’s Toll on Health Care Workers

Social media posts falsely suggest that meatpacking workers have suffered more COVID-19 cases than health care workers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there’s an increased risk for workers in both professions, but there have been significantly more cases reported among health care employees. 

Trump’s Misleading Ad on Coronavirus Testing

Trump’s Misleading Ad on Coronavirus Testing

A new Trump campaign ad claims that President Donald Trump took “fast action” in regard to testing for the novel coronavirus. While “fast action” is subjective, pandemic experts say the U.S. did not move quickly to set up an adequate system and in fact lagged behind other countries.

How Many COVID-19 Tests Are ‘Needed’ to Reopen?

How Many COVID-19 Tests Are ‘Needed’ to Reopen?

The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed that there are enough COVID-19 tests for states to begin reopening their economies. While that may be true for select locations, experts say more tests are needed, even if they don’t agree on a particular number.

The Falsehoods of the ‘Plandemic’ Video

The Falsehoods of the ‘Plandemic’ Video

The first installment of a documentary called “Plandemic” stormed through social media this week. But the viral video weaves a grand conspiracy theory by using a host of false and misleading claims about the novel coronavirus pandemic and its origins, vaccines, treatments for COVID-19, and more.

CDC Hasn’t ‘Reduced’ COVID-19 Death Toll

CDC Hasn’t ‘Reduced’ COVID-19 Death Toll

Claims on social media have been spreading the falsehood that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention significantly lowered the COVID-19 death toll. There has been no such reduction. These claims confuse two different measures of the number of deaths.

Trump Falsely Claims COVID-19 Death Projection Assumes ‘No Mitigation’

Trump Falsely Claims COVID-19 Death Projection Assumes ‘No Mitigation’

Dismissing concerns that states are reopening too soon, President Donald Trump incorrectly said that a newly revised model projecting 134,000 COVID-19 deaths by August “assumes no mitigation.” In fact, the model assumes states will keep their existing social distancing measures in place, unless suspensions have already been announced.

Trump’s Flawed China Travel Conspiracy

Trump’s Flawed China Travel Conspiracy

President Donald Trump has twice now advanced the flawed theory that China nefariously continued to allow flights out of Wuhan, the city where the COVID-19 outbreak originated, to Western cities while blocking flights into other cities in China.