White House Rewrites COVID History with Controversial Website Overhaul

The Trump administration has dramatically transformed COVID.gov, replacing vaccine and testing information with content promoting the lab leak theory. The revamped website, launched Friday, now features President Trump’s image prominently displayed between the words “lab” and “leak” under a White House heading, according to Fox News.

“This administration prioritizes transparency over all else,” a senior administration official told Fox News Digital. “The American people deserve to know the truth about the COVID pandemic, and we will always find ways to reach communities with that message.”

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From Public Health Resource to Political Statement

The site that once provided critical information on vaccines, testing, and treatment now walks readers through what the administration calls the “true origins” of the coronavirus. The redesigned website admonishes Democrats and media outlets for previously discrediting the theory that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China.

Gone are resources on ordering free tests, staying updated with vaccines, and accessing timely treatment. Instead, visitors find content sourced directly from the House Oversight Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which has been investigating the pandemic’s origins and response.

The new website takes direct aim at former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, claiming he promoted a “preferred narrative” that COVID-19 originated naturally rather than from a lab leak.

Pandemic Politics in Full Display

The dramatic website change represents a broader effort by the administration to reshape the pandemic narrative. Beyond the website transformation, federal agencies were ordered earlier this month to remove all COVID-related signage from federally owned buildings and leased spaces, according to a memo obtained by CBS News.

The directive, authored by acting General Services Administrator Stephen Ehikian and dated April 8, cites the end of the Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration on May 11, 2023, as justification for removing all visual references to the virus from government facilities.

One federal employee working in a healthcare clinic told CBS News they discovered the directive when nursing staff began removing any references to the virus from walls around their facility. The same memorandum also instructed agencies to immediately display official portraits of President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance while removing any portraits of the previous administration.

Contested Science and Incomplete Evidence

While the administration presents the lab leak theory as definitive, scientific consensus on COVID-19’s origins remains elusive. An assessment by the Central Intelligence Agency ordered by the Biden administration concluded “with low confidence” in January that a laboratory origin was more likely than a natural origin, though both possibilities remained plausible.

The Department of Energy and former FBI Director Christopher Wray previously indicated in 2023 that evidence pointed toward the lab leak theory, according to Fox7 Austin. However, scientists remain divided, with many still considering the possibility that the virus jumped from animals to humans, as many other viruses have done throughout history.

The revamped website also questions the scientific basis for COVID-era public health measures. “The ‘six feet apart’ social distancing recommendation — which shut down schools and small business across the country — was arbitrary and not based on science,” it states, claiming Dr. Fauci testified in closed-door testimony that the guidance “sort of just appeared.”

Public Health Concerns Persist

The website transformation comes as COVID-19 continues to affect Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 325 Americans have died from COVID per week on average over the past four weeks. As of April 5, less than a quarter of adults in the United States have received an updated COVID vaccine.

Critics argue that replacing critical public health information with politically charged content could hinder ongoing efforts to manage the virus. Federal health agency websites were still directing readers to the revamped link for information about COVID testing hours after the “lab leak” page rolled out, even though the White House’s page no longer contains information on how to access tests.

The Trump campaign celebrated the website change on social media, sharing a screenshot of the new page with the message: “TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!”

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