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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Trump Spreads Distorted Claim on Wuhan Lab Funding

Trump Spreads Distorted Claim on Wuhan Lab Funding

The Wuhan Institute of Virology received $600,000 as part of a larger five-year U.S. government grant to a U.S.-based nonprofit studying emerging infectious diseases. But President Donald Trump put the figure at $7.5 million, saying he “ended it.”

U.S. Isn’t the Only Country With Lockdown Protests

U.S. Isn’t the Only Country With Lockdown Protests

A social media post falsely claims that “the United States is the only country on earth that is protesting” stay-at-home restrictions and business closures. People around the world have opposed mitigation measures designed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus because of economic hardship and concerns over personal freedoms.

Warren, McEnany and Dueling COVID-19 Numbers

Warren, McEnany and Dueling COVID-19 Numbers

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said, “We are right now at … 25,000 new infections a day and 2,000 deaths a day.” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany called those “some funny numbers.” The disparity is largely a matter of semantics.

Testing, By the Numbers

Testing, By the Numbers

While the United States has done more total tests for COVID-19 than any other country, it doesn’t lead when testing is measured by other metrics.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

Trump Ad’s Misleading Use of CNN Interview

Trump Ad’s Misleading Use of CNN Interview

A Trump campaign ad misleadingly edits a CNN interview to suggest 2 million people would have died from the novel coronavirus were it not for President Donald Trump’s China travel restrictions.

Media Didn’t Misuse Boy’s Photo in Deaths of Three COVID-19 Victims

Media Didn’t Misuse Boy’s Photo in Deaths of Three COVID-19 Victims

Social media posts falsely suggest that news outlets are misusing a boy’s image to report the same child died of COVID-19 in three different countries. The posts actually refer to three different young people who died from the novel coronavirus in Portugal, Belgium and the UK.