FactCheck.org's Weekly Update

Falsely citing “studies,” President Donald Trump has suggested that there are few novel coronavirus cases in “malaria countries” because of the use of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine. But no such studies exist, and the drug is not widely used for malaria in much of the world.

In this video, we explore the existing research on face masks as tools to limit the spread of infectious diseases and explain why the CDC changed its stance on whether people who aren’t sick need to cover their faces.

Conflicting — and shifting — guidance on whether members of the public should wear face masks to combat COVID-19 has led to confusion about whether people should cover their faces when leaving their homes. We explain the evidence.

The Trump campaign has launched a misleading attack ad on presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his past statements on China.

President Trump said that restrictions he placed on travel from China “saved a lot of lives,” a claim that grew to “probably tens of thousands” and “hundreds of thousands.” But we found no support for such figures.

President Donald Trump continues to add false and exaggerated statements to his already lengthy list of bogus voter fraud claims.

At the White House coronavirus task force press briefing on April 7, President Donald Trump distorted the facts about the person he dismissed as the chief watchdog for spending under the new pandemic relief legislation and the Wisconsin election, which took place as scheduled despite the coronavirus outbreak.

In a testy exchange with reporters, President Donald Trump questioned the political motivations of an administration inspector general, claiming that her report on hospital experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic was “wrong.” The report gave the results of a survey of 323 hospitals across the country.

President Donald Trump once again touted hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. This time, the president falsely claimed that “people with lupus” who take hydroxychloroquine “aren’t catching this horrible virus.”

Both President Donald Trump and leading Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden are spinning the facts on the administration’s coronavirus travel restrictions for those who had been in China. 

A reader sent us a comment about our article on the research behind face masks and whether people who aren’t sick should use them to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Posts across social media are falsely claiming that a vaccine trial for the novel coronavirus in Senegal resulted in the death of seven children. The video behind those claims does not show that. And there is no clinical trial for a potential vaccine currently taking place in Senegal.

Viral posts wrongly suggest that the COVID-19 death toll is exaggerated because “the state” has instructed that “anyone who didnt die by a gun shot wound or car accident” be listed as a coronavirus victim. Experts say there is no such default classification — and that the U.S. death count is probably underestimated.

A viral post circulating on Facebook falsely claims that Walmart, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, has instituted a “staggered shopping schedule” that allows only certain age groups on specific days. The store has started a weekly “senior shopping event,” but no other restrictions based on age.

Online posts falsely claim that the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts donated $5 million to Democrats after it was allocated $25 million in the COVID-19 stimulus package. The center has not given any political contributions; it’s prohibited by law.