FactCheck.org’s SciCheck feature focuses exclusively on false and misleading scientific claims that are made by partisans to influence public policy. It was launched in January 2015 with a grant from the Stanton Foundation. The foundation was founded by the late Frank Stanton, president of CBS for 25 years, from 1946 to 1971.
In a series of tweets, President Donald Trump claimed — without evidence — that the pharma company Pfizer and his own FDA purposely held off on releasing positive interim results about a COVID-19 vaccine candidate until after the election.
President Trump has made the misleading boast that the U.S. is in “great shape” because 97% of emergency room visits were for something other than COVID-19. Trump could have boasted of similar percentages — 93% to 96% — during the worst periods of the pandemic.
President Trump said that once he came down with COVID-19, people for partisan reasons shifted from saying immunity was lifelong to saying it lasted only a few months. Experts haven’t changed their estimates.
At campaign rallies and in tweets, President Trump falsely said the World Health Organization changed its position and “admitted that Donald Trump was right” about lockdowns. But the agency has said no such thing.
Coronavirus task force member Dr. Scott Atlas and Sen. Rand Paul have misleadingly suggested that much of the U.S. population has immunity to the coronavirus due to previous exposure to similar viruses. But scientists say any possible protection is theoretical.
Calling investigational COVID-19 antibody drugs “cures” in a video posted to Twitter, President Donald Trump incorrectly said the therapies had been authorized and that “hundreds of thousands of doses” were nearly ready.
Even after contracting the coronavirus and being hospitalized, President Donald Trump has continued to downplay the risks of COVID-19 and exaggerate the progress the U.S. has made in fighting the pandemic.
On Oct. 2, President Trump revealed that he and the first lady had tested positive for COVID-19. Here we answer common questions about the risks of the disease, treatments available and the shortcomings of testing.
For nearly two months, President Trump has touted an 85% decline in the nation’s COVID-19 case fatality rate since April — and has attributed the drop to improvements in treatment. But better treatment is only part of the story.
Contradicting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director and other government officials, President Donald Trump incorrectly said in a press briefing that a coronavirus vaccine would be “immediately” available to the general public after an authorization.