Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Claim
Donald Trump tells voters not to comply with forced vaccinations or lockdowns as the threat of monkeypox looms, stating that his political opponents would use the restrictions and mail-in ballots to manipulate the upcoming 2024 US presidential election in November.
Fact
Video dates back to August 30, 2023, when Trump was talking after new Covid variants were detected in multiple US states.
Several social media users are circulating a short video statement from former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, purportedly telling voters not to comply with forced vaccinations or lockdowns as the threat of monkeypox looms. Trump allegedly claims that there are attempts to restart the “Covid hysteria”, saying that his political opponents would use the restrictions and mail-in ballots to manipulate the upcoming 2024 US presidential election in November.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
WHO Declares Mpox A Global Health Emergency
The World Health Organization has reportedly declared mpox — formerly known as monkeypox — a public health emergency of international concern on Thursday amid an outbreak in Congo. More than 27,000 cases and around 1100 deaths have been recorded since January 2023 as the African nation battles its worst-ever outbreak. The situation has also triggered global concern due to the rapid spread of a new virus offshoot in recent months, which has seen neighbouring Pakistan detect three cases of mpox virus.
Fact Check
Newschecker noticed that at no point in his speech did Trump say monkeypox or mpox, indicating that it may be an old video.
A further search led us to the same video, which was uploaded by the official Trump campaign account on Twitter on August 30, 2023.
The post can be seen here too, proving he was talking in the wake of three new Covid-19 variants that were spreading around the country in August 2023, fuelling fears of restrictions being reimposed. News reports on Trump’s statement can be seen here and here.
“Donald Trump railed against news that some institutions are reinstating mask mandates due to the rise in new coronavirus variants, linking the alleged ‘fearmongering’ to his personal claims that the 2024 election will be subject to fraud,” read a Newsweek report, dated August 31, 2023, confirming that the video was from last year. Mpox was declared a public health emergency of international concern on August 14, 2024.
Also Read: Viral Video Does Not Show Son Of Army Martyr Performing Emotional Song
Conclusion
Old video of Donald Trump urging voters not to comply with the forced lockdowns following a Covid outbreak goes viral to push conspiracy theory that mpox-enforced restrictions will be used to rig the upcoming US elections.
Result: False
Sources
Tweet, @TeamTrump, August 30, 2023
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
