A TV station’s report on a Michigan fine for those violating the state’s social distancing orders showed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at a signing ceremony with an intimate crowd of people — prompting accusations of hypocrisy on social media. But the footage used was from January 2019.
Issues: COVID-19
Trump Campaign’s Misleading Ad Attacking Biden on China
Trump’s Snowballing China Travel Claim
False Claim of Deadly Coronavirus Vaccine Trial in Africa
Mailbag: Face Masks
A reader sent us a comment about our article on the research behind face masks and whether people who aren’t sick should use them to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Trump’s Faulty Malaria-Coronavirus Connection
Video: The Science Behind Shifting COVID-19 Face Mask Advice
Trump’s Claims on IG, Wisconsin Election
At the White House coronavirus task force press briefing on April 7, President Donald Trump distorted the facts about the person he dismissed as the chief watchdog for spending under the new pandemic relief legislation and the Wisconsin election, which took place as scheduled despite the coronavirus outbreak.
Social Media Posts Make Baseless Claim on COVID-19 Death Toll
Viral posts wrongly suggest that the COVID-19 death toll is exaggerated because “the state” has instructed that “anyone who didnt die by a gun shot wound or car accident” be listed as a coronavirus victim. Experts say there is no such default classification — and that the U.S. death count is probably underestimated.
The HHS Inspector General Report
In a testy exchange with reporters, President Donald Trump questioned the political motivations of an administration inspector general, claiming that her report on hospital experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic was “wrong.” The report gave the results of a survey of 323 hospitals across the country.