Twitter Flags Trump’s Tweet about COVID-19 as ‘Potentially Harmful Information’
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Twitter flagged one of US President Donald Trump’s tweets for spreading misinformation on Sunday after he claimed he was immune from the coronavirus.
“A total and complete sign off from White House Doctors yesterday. That means I can’t get it (immune), and can’t give it. Very nice to know!!!” Trump tweeted on Sunday, shortly after a Fox News interview in which he announced the same thing multiple times.
Twitter later flagged the tweet and added a disclaimer, but left it published because it “may be in the public’s interest” for it to remain accessible, RT reported.
The US president’s physician announced on Saturday that Trump is no longer at risk of transmitting the virus to others. Critics have questioned when his last COVID-19 test was, though, since he was released from Walter Reed Medical Center on Monday.
The science behind being immune to the virus after recovering is not clear. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported no person has gotten reinfected with the virus within three months of an initial recovery. This does not mean they cannot later be reinfected, however, and “additional research is ongoing.”
Some studies have suggested, though, that many who are infected with COVID-19 are likely to develop antibodies against the virus.
In his Fox interview on Sunday, Trump did acknowledge that he does not know for how long he may be “immune” to COVID-19.
“It looks like I’m immune for, I don’t know, maybe a long time, maybe a short time,” he said. “It could be a lifetime. Nobody really knows, but I’m immune.”
The president is already set to hit the campaign trail again, with an in-person event scheduled for Monday in Sanford, Florida.
