The coronavirus outbreak has spread to nearly a 100,000 people across at least 71 countries, resulting in its first deaths in the United States. But while public health officials rush to contain the virus and inform the public, the pro-Trump media world has been spreading misinformation and downplaying the disease in a fevered attempt to defend the president and his administration.

Trump-aligned media and pundits have variously suggested that the virus is a Democratic hoax, a Chinese bioweapon, an attempt to destabilize the stock market or is no more harmful than the common cold. There is no factual basis for any of these conspiratorial claims, some of which are directly misinforming the public about the dangers of a potentially deadly disease.

Radio host and recent presidential medal of freedom honoree Rush Limbaugh, along with far-right media outlet Gateway Pundit, groundlessly suggested that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was overblowing the threat of COVID-19 in an attempt to damage Trump. Their attacks focused on top CDC official Nancy Messonnier, the sister of former deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein who oversaw the special counsel investigation into foreign interference in the 2016 election. This family connection earlier noticed by QAnon conspiracy supporters was enough to baselessly allege Messonniers accurate warnings about the virus were attacks on Trump.