The Trump administration has repurposed the official U.S. COVID-19 website, covid.gov, into a platform that heavily promotes the theory that COVID-19 originated from a lab in Wuhan, China. Now titled “Lab Leak: The True Origins of COVID-19,” the site features images of former President Trump and emphasizes claims that a natural origin for the virus lacks strong supporting evidence.
In its new form, the website removes most of the public health resources that were previously available—such as information on vaccines, testing, and treatments. Instead, it focuses on criticizing pandemic responses from organizations and individuals like the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Anthony Fauci, and former President Joe Biden, accusing them of suppressing dissenting views and mismanaging the crisis.
The relaunch follows a January 2025 CIA assessment that gave “low confidence” to the lab-leak theory but acknowledged it as plausible. Still, the scientific community remains divided, with many experts cautioning against drawing firm conclusions without concrete evidence.
The rebranding has sparked intense backlash from public health experts and political opponents, who say the move politicizes a national health crisis and erodes trust in government institutions. Critics also express concern over the elimination of life-saving resources from the site.
Supporters, however, argue that it’s time to give more visibility to the lab-leak theory and hold officials accountable for pandemic decisions. They claim the site sheds light on alternative explanations that deserve further investigation.
As debate continues, the White House’s shift in messaging marks a stark departure from previous public health communication strategies, raising questions about the role of government platforms in promoting controversial theories over neutral information.
