Trump Alters Covid.gov Website to Promote Lab Leak Hypothesis
The White House Flips COVID.gov to Peddle Lab Leak Theory
Just when you thought things couldn't get any crazier, the White House decides to switch up the COVID.gov website, turning it into a platform to push the disputed lab leak theory for the origins of COVID-19. Can you believe it? The former president, Donald Trump, who was in office during the initial year of the COVID pandemic in 2020, has always been eager to claim the virus originated from a lab in Wuhan, China, as a wacky suggestion it was intentionally released onto the world. But come on, folks, the best science out there still points to a natural origin for the virus.
For those of you who are curious, let's take a stroll down memory lane and check out the good old days when COVID.gov served its original purpose as a government-run destination offering information about COVID-19 testing, vaccines, and treatment options. Thanks to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, we have snapshots of the site saved as recently as April 10.
But, oh boy, do you remember the Trump regime? They have transformed that dry, informative, fact-based website into a hype page for Trump's personal gripes against his political adversaries. At some point within the past week, COVID-19 started redirecting to the White House, and let me tell you – it doesn't disappoint!
Now when you type in the COVID.gov URL, you're taken straight to the White House website, and you'll find a list of so-called facts that aren't widely agreed upon by scientists studying the origins of COVID-19. To be clear, Trump's allies have long maintained that COVID-19 was designed in a lab and either intentionally or accidentally leaked. The CIA even adjusted its assessment of COVID's origins shortly after Trump returned to power, claiming it may have originated from a lab leak, though they admitted "low confidence" in that assessment. However, the latest research on the subject, based on genomic data, still indicates a natural origin from an animal market in Wuhan, China. Additionally, a study published just this year found that most virologists and experts believe the lab-leak theory doesn't provide the best explanation for the arrival of COVID-19.
Now, this new website presents highly contentious claims as facts and prominently features key players like Anthony Fauci and Joe Biden, who are portrayed as covering up some giant scandal. It gets even creepier because the website also names several other individuals whom the White House suggests colluded to cover up the true origins of COVID, including Dr. David Morens, a top advisor to Fauci. This is concerning because Trump has promised a campaign of vengeance against his enemies and has already started targeting individuals like cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs for telling the truth about the 2020 election. Trump has also targeted law firms seeking payment for their services and institutions like Harvard University to segregate American life.
But at least Trump's new website looks like a hot mess. Bluesky user @danziger.bsky.social compared the design to Trump himself acting as the leaker. Another user on the platform likened the design to the Pixar lamp logo. Seriously, you've got to see it to believe it!
- Jon Danziger (@danziger.bsky.social) April 18, 2025 at 8:00 AM
The kooky design of Trump's redesign might be surprising in any other universe, but hey, welcome to the one where Trump was elected president—not once, but twice. So every day, we wake up to fresh doses of absurdity like this.
The response by the first Trump administration to the COVID-19 pandemic can best be described as a disaster. The U.S. had a death rate of 341 per 100,000 residents, making it the second worst in the world after Peru, according to Johns Hopkins University data through early 2023. Because let's face it, Trump will never admit when he screws up, so it makes sense that he would try to pin the blame on someone else.
Trump's messed-up handling of testing, lack of providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers, and blatant lies to the American people to calm the markets didn't cause the virus to spread like wildfire. Nope! According to Trump, some shifty forces in China were out to get us—because, you know, that always seems to be the culprit.
This idea that COVID-19 was designed in a lab is possible, but let's be honest—there's little evidence to support that theory. And while it's fine to explore all possible causes for a pandemic, people like Trump and his cronies at the White House are clearly motivated to blame anyone but themselves. After all, this is a guy who once suggested injecting bleach into the body as a cure for the virus. Trump needs there to be some outside force he can throw under the bus because, compared to other countries, he failed miserably to keep Americans safe.
[Written by an assistant, review and fact-checking by a human editor]
- The White House's sudden redesign of COVID.gov, now used to promote the disputed lab leak theory for COVID-19's origins, prompts a reminder of the site's former role offering information about testing, vaccines, and treatment options.
- A glance at the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine reveals recent snapshots of the original COVID.gov site saved as late as April 10.
- Despite the change, users can still find the COVID-19 URL redirecting to the White House website, showcasing a list of contentious claims, primarily favoring the lab leak theory.
- The White House website also highlights key figures, such as Anthony Fauci and Joe Biden, portraying them as covering up a supposed scandal related to the origins of COVID-19.
- Further scrutiny names several individuals, like Dr. David Morens, who the White House suggests colluded to cover up the true origins of the virus.
- The lab leak theory is presented as fact on the website, despite most recent research indicating a natural origin for COVID-19.
- The new website's design is described as chaotic and compared to Trump's own behavior, while some users liken it to the Pixar lamp logo.
- Trump's redesign of COVID.gov is not surprising given the chaos and absurdity that characterized much of his presidency.
- Trump's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic has been widely criticized, with the U.S. ranking among the countries with the highest per-capita death rates during the early stages of the pandemic.
