Misinformation, Speculation Follow Trump COVID-19 Diagnosis

The news that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump contracted the novel coronavirus led to a wave of social media posts spreading misinformation — and politically charged speculation.

Some of posts tapped into baseless conspiracy theories, and others shared outright falsehoods, as we’ll explain.

First, here’s some of what we know about the matter:

• Trump announced early Oct. 2 on Twitter that he had tested positive for the virus, which causes COVID-19. “Tonight, @FLOTUS  and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” he wrote shortly before 1 a.m.
• That announcement followed breaking news by Bloomberg News that a Trump aide, Hope Hicks, had tested positive for the virus. Hicks had been traveling with Trump in recent days.
• The White House later released a memo from Dr. Sean P. Conley, Trump’s White House physician, dated Oct. 1, which in part said: “This evening I received confirmation that President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
• White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that the president was experiencing “mild symptoms.”