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President Donald Trump laid out specific accusations against the World Health Organization as he announced that the United States would halt its financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The world depends on the WHO to work with countries to ensure that accurate information about international health threats is shared in a timely manner, and if it’s not, to independently tell the world the truth about what is happening,” Trump said.
We scrutinized the evidence behind three specific claims from Trump’s remarks.
Report shows Florida bus system struggles with social distancing
Florida’s WTSP Reporter Jenna Bourne, working on an investigative story as part of the Poynter Institute’s VidSpark initiative, shines the light on a troubling trend on Tampa buses. Watch it now»
COVID-19 testing: Where we are now?
The United States has increased COVID-19 testing in recent weeks but more testing is needed to safely reopen the country, experts say. Check it out»
Obama knocks GOP’s stance on preexisting conditions during the pandemic
Republicans have maintained support for a lawsuit that would dismantle the Affordable Care Act ― the law that prohibits charging people more for health coverage because of preexisting conditions and that extended insurance to millions of previously uninsured Americans. Read the fact-check»
Does Amazon’s Alexa say ‘the government’ planned the coronavirus pandemic?
The Alexa answer in the post refers to a real project called Event 201 that simulated possible outcomes of a coronavirus pandemic. We were unable to elicit the same answer from Alexa, and Amazon told us that the answer to that question would be different. Get the facts»
Alex Mahadevan is a senior multimedia reporter at MediaWise. He can be reached at amahadevan@poynter.org or on Twitter at @AlexMahadevan. Follow MediaWise on TikTok.
