A viral video clip from a popular podcast received 2.5 million engagements in one day. The video discusses Dr. Fauci’s “leaked” emails, including claims that Fauci said masks don’t work and that he hid evidence that COVID-19 originated in an NIH-funded lab in Wuhan, China. The emails in question are from the early months of the pandemic before researchers fully understood how the virus spreads. During this time, Dr. Fauci and other public health officials recommended that people who are sick should wear masks, not for their own protection but to avoid infecting others. Once it became clear that asymptomatic people could also spread COVID, the guidelines were updated to advise that everyone wear masks to slow transmission of the virus. While the origin of SARS-CoV-2 remains unclear, scientists largely agree that one of the most plausible theories is that the virus originated and evolved from nature. In an email exchange with Dr. Fauci, another researcher noted it was possible that the virus was engineered but after further analysis concluded it was not man-made or manipulated. The investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV-2 will take time.
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Given the prominence of Dr. Fauci as the US government’s most visible pandemic spokesperson, and the significant news coverage of the release of his emails, health communicators are advised to monitor coverage to stay informed. Anti-vaccine, anti-government, conspiracy groups, and legitimate journalists from across the political spectrum are expected to continue to discuss the content of these emails for quite some time. Fact Checking Source(s): politifact.com, politifact.com, poynter.org, latimes.com
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