A compendium of the top false and misleading claims by the Democratic presidential candidate.
Biden’s Greatest Hits
Issues: COVID-19
Mailbag: COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution
A reader sent us a comment about our article on distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The article reviewed the Trump administration’s distribution plans.
Trump’s Missteps on COVID-19 Mortality
President Donald Trump exaggerated Americans’ comparative success battling the coronavirus, falsely saying in a press briefing that the U.S. per capita death rate is lower than “most” of Western Europe. He also claimed a 9% decrease in COVID-19 fatalities over the past week, but the data do not show such a decline.
Dueling Trump, Biden Claims on COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution
President Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, have made competing claims about the administration’s plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. We look at the planning to date.
Asthma Medicine Not Proven as COVID-19 ‘Cure’
A viral headline on Facebook claims that a vaccine isn’t “Needed” for COVID-19 because “There Is Already A Cure.” But the supposed “cure” is an asthma medication, touted by a Texas doctor, that has not yet been proven in clinical trials as an effective treatment for COVID-19 — though researchers are exploring its efficacy.
Trump’s Misleading COVID-19 Comparisons to Other Countries
In a flurry of tweets and remarks, President Donald Trump continued to distort the facts on the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19 Nasal Swab Test Does Not Cause Risk of Infection
A viral Facebook post makes the false claim that the nasal swab test for COVID-19 damages the “blood-brain barrier” and can therefore lead to brain infections. Medical experts say the swab test is completely safe.
Herman Cain Died of COVID-19, Not Cancer
Within hours after his passing, Facebook posts falsely claimed that former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain died of colon cancer, not COVID-19. Cain did battle and survive cancer in 2006, but his staff confirmed online that his death was due to the novel coronavirus.
COVID-19 Data-Reporting Changed, But Not Florida’s Case Count
As Florida’s COVID-19 case count rose to the second-highest in the U.S. in July, a former challenger for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat falsely claimed on social media that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had made a “mistake” and subsequently reduced Florida’s count by 79,000 cases. There was no such adjustment.
FactChecking Trump’s COVID-19 Press Briefing
President Donald Trump, at a July 28 briefing, made a few false and misleading statements about COVID-19.