Back from the hospital after three days of treatment for the Coronavirus, President Donald Trump drew a rebuke from a pair of social media giants on Tuesday, after claiming that the Coronavirus was not as deadly as the seasonal flu.
After a few hours, Facebook pulled down a the President’s misleading claim, while Twitter obscured Mr. Trump’s post with a warning message.
“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19,” the Twitter warning read.
While the President says the Coronavirus has been ‘far less lethal’ than the flu - official government health data paints a much different picture.
More people have died in the US from coronavirus since Feb. 29 than the past five flu seasons combined, per @tinkertime. Per CDC: *2019-2020: 22,000 (preliminary)
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 6, 2020
* 2018-2019: 34,000 (preliminary)
* 2017-2018: 61,000 (preliminary)
* 2016-2017: 38,000
* 2015-2016: 23,000 https://t.co/Sd1YFvJwyk
It was the second time the President had cast doubts on the severity of the Coronavirus by comparing it to the flu on Twitter - as an earlier post in March said, “Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on.”
But Mr. Trump’s claim of 100,000 deaths from the flu was misleading, given that has not happened in the United States since a bad outbreak in 1968.
Health officials have voiced concerns about the flu causing problems at a time when the Coronavirus outbreak has not been checked, as top health officials have repeatedly urged Americans to get a flu shot, something the President did not address.
With flu season underway and expected to continue through early May, NMDOH is urging all New Mexicans to get their flu shot this year. Additional information on the flu can be found at https://t.co/eHF3jvBjlp.
— NM Dept. of Health (@NMDOH) October 5, 2020
Read press release here: https://t.co/Q9uxYmVDYr pic.twitter.com/a2budn7kuV
The social media dustup came a day after the President urged Americans not to be afraid of the Coronavirus.
“Don’t let it dominate your life,” the President said in a video released by the White House.