A Facebook fact checker intervened this weekend to stop the latest smear against President Donald Trump from the media and members of the Democratic Party after they falsely claimed that the president called the coronavirus a “hoax.”
Facebook took action against a report from left-wing Politico after Check Your Fact, which is a subsidiary of Daily Caller Inc., flagged the false claim to the social media company.
In its headline, Politico falsely stated, “Trump rallies his base to treat coronavirus as a ‘hoax.’”
Politico’s opening line also falsely claimed, “President Donald Trump on Friday night tried to cast the global outbreak of the coronavirus as a liberal conspiracy intended to undermine his first term.”
A preview tile on Facebook of the fact check report stated that the claims were “false,” adding, “the primary claims in the information are factually inaccurate.”
Check Your Fact reported:
Trump referred to the alleged “politicizing” of the coronavirus by Democrats as “their new hoax.” He did not refer to the coronavirus itself as a hoax. Throughout the speech, Trump reiterates his administration is taking the threat of the coronavirus seriously.
FB notice says “the primary claims” in the post “are factually inaccurate” pic.twitter.com/KlJhqclNJw
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) March 1, 2020
Donald Trump Jr. responded to the fact check on Facebook by noting that it moves in the right direction.
“It’s a start. I’m not getting my hopes up but maybe they listened to @GOPLeader, @HawleyMO, and my talk @cpac yesterday,” Trump Jr. wrote on Twitter. “Of course the rest of the media is still running with a lie but no one expects that to ever change.”
It’s a start. I’m not getting my hopes up but maybe they listened to @GOPLeader, @HawleyMO, and my talk @cpac yesterday.
Of course the rest of the media is still running with a lie but no one expects that to ever change. https://t.co/vZrfKkWqfT
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 1, 2020
Trump addressed the issue during a press briefing on Saturday where he and administration officials gave an update on what steps they are taking to make sure the American public is safe from the coronavirus.
When asked if he regretted using the term, Trump responded: “No. No. No. Hoax referring to the action that they take to try and pin this on somebody because we’ve done such a good job. The hoax is on them not… I’m not talking about what’s happening here.”
“I’m talking what they’re doing,” Trump continued. “That’s the hoax. That’s just a continuation of the hoax, whether it’s the impeachment hoax or the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. This is what I’m talking about, certainly not referring to this.”
“How could anybody refer to this?” Trump concluded. “This is very serious stuff, but the way they refer to it because these people have done such an incredible job, and I don’t like it when they are criticizing these people and that’s the hoax. That’s what I’m talking about.”
Numerous Democrats promoted the false claim on social media in an apparent effort to damage the president.
Leftist Bill Kristol wrote: “Trump last night: coronavirus is a hoax; and his supporters should dishonestly vote in the Democratic primary for his weakest opponent, Sanders. Trump is dangerous to our public health and our civic health. South Carolinians: Please select a Democratic nominee who can defeat him.”
Trump last night: coronavirus is a hoax; and his supporters should dishonestly vote in the Democratic primary for his weakest opponent, Sanders. Trump is dangerous to our public health and our civic health. South Carolinians: Please select a Democratic nominee who can defeat him.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 29, 2020
Anti-Trump Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank wrote: “Remember this moment: Trump, in South Carolina, just called the coronavirus a ‘hoax.'”
Democrat Rep. Ted Lieu (CA) wrote: “Dear @realDonaldTrump: I hope you apologize for using the term ‘new hoax’ in connection with the #coronavirus outbreak. Stop lying to the American people. This is not about you. This is a global public health crisis.”
Dear @realDonaldTrump: I hope you apologize for using the term “new hoax” in connection with the #coronavirus outbreak. Stop lying to the American people. This is not about you. This is a global public health crisis. https://t.co/9vfvKJ4n5f
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) February 29, 2020
Democrat presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg falsely claimed in multiple tweets that Trump called the coronavirus a “hoax.”
Trump was briefed on coronavirus two months ago.
Now, he calls it a hoax.
It’s not just that he’s bad at leading – he is incapable of leading. pic.twitter.com/shxGN5ue3d
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) February 29, 2020
Far-left MSNBC host and documented bigot Joy Ann Reid also promoted the lie on air during a segment on Saturday.
Video: Here's the video of Joy Reid pushing on MSNBC the total, absolute lie that President Trump referred to the #coronavirus as a "hoax" and not a real thing "made up by the news media and Democrats" #SCPrimary pic.twitter.com/u78JtDQDqV
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 1, 2020
The Daily Wire reported Thursday on just some of the actions that the Trump administration has taken to combat the coronavirus:
The Trump administration has aggressively moved to combat the coronavirus as it established a task force to fight it over a month ago; has attempted for the last 2 months to have the CDC enter China to assist in containing the outbreak and researching the virus; has pledged $100 million to other countries to combat it; immediately banned flights from China; has soughs $2.5 billion to combat the virus in the U.S. and agreed to give Congress even more when it was asked; has considered using special powers that it has that would boost domestic manufacturing to combat the virus; and has ordered the Navy to have all ships that have visited countries in the Pacific region to self-quarantine for 14 days.
The administration announced on Saturday that it was imposing additional travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus, and announced that it had contracted with 3M to produce tens of millions of masks per month to provide to medical officials in case of an outbreak.