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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Trump’s Statements About the Coronavirus

Trump’s Statements About the Coronavirus

President Donald Trump said on March 17, “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.” While it’s not possible to know what Trump “felt,” there’s no doubt that Trump had minimized the threat of the new coronavirus for weeks in statement after statement.

Viral Posts Falsely Align Viruses to Election Years

Viral Posts Falsely Align Viruses to Election Years

Viral posts on social media claim COVID-19 is no worse than other outbreaks that have occurred in “every election year,” suggesting that the new coronavirus is being “hyped” to hurt President Donald Trump. But most of the dates cited to defend those conclusions about previous outbreaks are misleading or incorrect.

Infographic on Facebook Distorts Comparative Facts on Viruses

Infographic on Facebook Distorts Comparative Facts on Viruses

A misleading chart being spread on Facebook, erroneously dubbing the new coronavirus the “least deadly virus,” contains outdated information about the coronavirus and erroneous information about the death rate of the 2009 pandemic of H1N1.

FactChecking Trump’s Coronavirus Address

FactChecking Trump’s Coronavirus  Address

In a short primetime address, President Donald Trump provided false, misleading and incomplete information about the new coronavirus and actions his administration has taken or will take to staunch its spread.

False Claim About CDC’s Global Anti-Pandemic Work

False Claim About CDC’s Global Anti-Pandemic Work

As the COVID-19 disease caused by the new coronavirus has spread around the world, a number of politicians, news organizations and public figures have made the false claim that the Trump administration cut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s anti-pandemic work in over 40 countries to just 10.

FactChecking Trump’s Scranton Town Hall

FactChecking Trump’s Scranton Town Hall

At a town hall event in the swing state of Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump made several false and misleading claims, some of which we have repeatedly debunked before.

The Facts on Trump’s Travel Restrictions

The Facts on Trump’s Travel Restrictions

President Donald Trump has made a number of misleading statements about his decision on Jan. 31 to impose travel restrictions related to the novel coronavirus epidemic.