Fact Check: MSNBC Retracts Outrageous Claim That COVID Could Kill 50% of Americans
MSNBC has taken down a tweet that falsely claimed the coronavirus had the potential to kill 50 percent of the U.S. population.
The tweet, which was posted early Tuesday and widely shared, was described as “erroneous” by the far-left network and quickly removed.
“There is no option to just let everyone go back out and go back to normal if a pandemic rages across the country and kills 50% of the population,” the deleted tweet from MSNBC’s verified Twitter account read.
The quote, attributed to host Chris Hayes, was from his Monday show, but whoever created the post had misquoted him.
The network issued a retraction tweet and shared a photo of the original tweet, along with a correction.
“Correction: The quote tweeted is incorrect due to an editing error. It should read: ‘if a pandemic rages across the country and infects 50% of the population, and kills a percentage point, at the low end,’” the correction stated.
“The erroneous tweet is included for the record,” MSNBC wrote.
Correction: The quote tweeted is incorrect due to an editing error.
It should read: “if a pandemic rages across the country and infects 50% of the population, and kills a percentage point, at the low end”
The erroneous tweet is included for the record. https://t.co/ajvAfsmlKj pic.twitter.com/TFsk5Wk5lA
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 24, 2020
As with the traditional retractions, the original, errant reporting made the front page while the retraction ended up on page eight.
The original, fear-mongering tweet garnered more than 700 retweets and 2,000 likes, whereas the retraction received little more than 100 shares and 100 likes — so the damage was done.
Hayes spoke in his monologue about President Donald Trump’s comments regarding a timeline for opening the country back up as communities across the nation fight the COVID-19 outbreak.
“There is no option to just let everyone go back out and go back to normal if a pandemic rages across the country and infects 50 percent of the population, and kills a percentage point at the low end of those infected and also melts down all the hospitals,” Hayes said.
Hopefully, MSNBC’s followers understood the tweet’s assertion that 50 percent of Americans could die from the coronavirus was false.
As Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden told us last month, half of the country’s population has already been killed by gun violence.
If MSNBC has made a decision that disseminating false information is “erroneous,” then it should probably consider combing through the majority of its posts and deleting them as well.
The network has been pushing 24-hour-a-day coronavirus hysteria on Twitter for more than two weeks, and egregious lies for much longer than that.
While social media managers are human, and thus, prone to error, MSNBC doesn’t deserve any wiggle room on this one.
A large number of Americans are anxious about the coronavirus epidemic, and its devastating effects on the economy have exacerbated an already tense situation.
The establishment media has relied on either sensationalism or the misrepresentation of facts in recent weeks, as they and Democratic lawmakers attempt to weaponize the coronavirus in order to harm Trump’s chances for re-election.
The “erroneous” tweet was more evidence that the establishment media is trying to tell us something: Everything is wrong.
They want us to believe the world is crumbling from beneath us with Trump at the helm.
Whether the MSNBC tweet was an honest mistake due to an oversight is immaterial. MSNBC has joined the rest of the establishment media in attempting to craft a narrative that Trump is failing.
Ironically, about two hours after her employer had to issue a major correction, star host Rachel Maddow posted a tweet which warned against the spread of “misinformation.”
Do not amplify misinformation.
If someone is consistently hyping snake-oil miracle cures, or making up stories about policies that aren’t real, stop putting a camera or a mic on that person as a source for information in this crisis.
Rebut lies. Tell the truth. Cite sources.
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) March 24, 2020
The tweet was presumably in reference to Trump’s support of testing anti-malaria drugs, which have shown success in helping patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
On Tuesday, Democratic Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak inexplicably banned his state’s coronavirus patients from having the freedom to use the drug to potentially save their lives, the New York Post reported.
Surely, the governor’s actions weren’t politically motivated.
No Democrat would ever play with human lives in an attempt to hurt the president — except congressional Democrats, who did that very thing this week when they attempted to cram a coronavirus relief bill for Americans full of pork and liberal pet projects.
But, to the chagrin of Democrats and the media, the president has taken control of the country’s dire situation and his decisive leadership is popular.
Gallup numbers released Tuesday show the president’s approval rating has increased 5 percentage points in recent weeks, from 44 earlier this month percent to 49 percent.
Additionally, Gallup found that 60 percent of respondents approved of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus situation.
The establishment media can share and delete all of the misinformation it wishes.
With the country looking for a beacon of hope, a majority of people aren’t buying into their hysteria and lying.
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