Covid․gov now points to a ‘lab leak’ conspiracy website
- Covid.gov, the official government website for COVID-19 information, has been redirected to a webpage promoting the lab leak conspiracy theory.
- The new webpage, which was not present on covid.gov until recently, claims that the virus originated from a Chinese lab due to “inadequate biosafety levels” and pushes other conspiracy theories.
- Covidtests.gov, another government website, has also been redirected to this new webpage, allowing users to access conspiracy theory content instead of COVID-19 testing information.
- The change in covid.gov’s content is part of a larger trend by the Trump administration to remove or modify webpages that don’t align with its beliefs, particularly on topics like climate change and racial equity.
- Archived versions of covid.gov suggest that the website was still providing accurate COVID-19 information until at least April 10th, highlighting the sudden shift in content to promote a conspiracy theory.
Covid.gov, the government website where you could previously find information about covid, now redirects to a page that pushes the conspiracy theory that the virus originated from a lab. Navigating to the website reveals a prominent banner with the words “Lab Leak” and a photo of Donald Trump, as spotted earlier by Wired’s Andrew Couts.
Covidtests.gov, where you could order free covid tests, also redirects to the new webpage.
The website purports to reveal the “true origins” of covid, blaming a Chinese lab’s “inadequate biosafety levels” for allegedly “leaking” the virus. It goes on to push other blatant conspiracy theories, such as the claim that the Biden administration misled the public about covid’s origins and “demonized alternative treatments.” The page also claims that the WHO “caved to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party” in its response to the pandemic.
It’s not clear exactly when the covid.gov page changed. As shown on an archived version of the webpage, covid.gov included resources about the virus up until at least April 10th. The page now includes a link to the House Oversight Committee report, which similarly promotes the lab leak conspiracy theory.
Since February, the Trump administration has been working to rip down webpages from federal websites that don’t align with its beliefs – particularly information related to climate change, racial equity, and gender identity. Though a court order brought some of these pages back online, the Trump administration ordered federal agencies to include disclaimers around “gender ideology.”