Fact Check: Video of Trump warning about monkeypox likely to trigger lockdown ahead of polls is from 2023
Recently, WHO Director – General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak of Monkeypox in Africa as a GlobalHealth Emergency. It classified the Monkeypox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
Trump
Recently, WHO Director – General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak of Monkeypox in Africa as a GlobalHealth Emergency. It classified the Monkeypox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). India’s union health ministry also issued a directive for increased vigilance at international airports and land ports to detect Mpox symptoms among incoming passengers particularly those from Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Although there have been no reported cases of Mpox or Monkeypox in India so far, the government is taking preemptive measures to ensure readiness in the event of an outbreak. According to WHO, Mpox primarily transmits from person to person through direct physical contact with the infected individual. The symptoms of M Pox typically manifest within one or three weeks after exposure and commonly include rash, fever, headache and muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue etc.
Amidst this, a video of former President of the USA Donald Trump allegedly warning about election fraud and also imposing unnecessary lockdowns amid the Monkeypox outbreak, is going viral. As the 2024 Presidential elections are nearing, this video of Trump is in circulation with the allegations that the ‘Left-wing’ is trying to reimpose lockdowns, just like during the Covid-19 period. Several X users shared the video with the caption “Trump warns about lockdowns and election fraud by causing panic. This time with #monkeypox. Refuse to comply!”
Fact Check:
The claim is Misleading. The video is from the year 2023 and is not related to Monkeypox in any way.
When we extracted the keyframes from the viral video and searched using reverse image search, we found that the video was from August 2023. We found a YouTube video published by David Pakman on September 15, 2023, where he states that ‘Donald Trump is accusing that the Democrats are bringing back Covid in order to rig the 2024 elections, which makes no sense.’ In this video, the viral video is played from 0.46 seconds.
Another YouTube user named Kusi News shared the same viral video with the title “TRUMP blasts Democrats for efforts to bring back Covid mandates ahead of 2024” and it was published on September 1, 2023. In the video, Trump blasts Democrats for bringing back Covid mandates ahead of the 2024 elections.
Upon further search, we found the same video published on the Instagram account of Donald Trump, on August 31, 2023, with the caption “COVID Tyrants want to take away our Freedom. Hear my words— WE WILL NOT COMPLY!”
Therefore, the viral video of Donald Trump is an old one, it is not related to Monkey Pox. In the video, Trump is seen talking about the COVID regulations, not Monkeypox. The claim is Misleading.