Coronavirus: US radio station to stop airing Trump briefings because of disinformation

Washington state's KUOW joins other broadcasters in concerns about ethical implications of relaying Trump's words

A public radio station in Washington state has decided to no longer broadcast Donald Trump’s coronavirus press briefings live on the basis that they routinely relay disinformation.

In a statement posted online, Seattle’s KUOW said that the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force briefings feature so many false and misleading claims that it is impossible to fact-check them in real time, meaning too many slipped through to their audience unfiltered.

“After airing the White House briefings live for two weeks, a pattern of false information and exaggeration increasingly had many at KUOW questioning whether these briefings were in the best service of our mission – to create and serve a more informed public. Of even greater concern was the potential impact of false information on the health and safety of our community.”

After listing various examples of falsehoods promulgated by the president himself while the station was broadcasting live, the statement confirms that KUOW and NPR will continue to cover the briefings, and will review their decision to cease live broadcasts on a daily basis.

Among the incidents listed by the station are Mr Trump’s claims that grocery stores are well-stocked (many are almost empty) and that no-one expected a pandemic this size (the intelligence provided briefings to the contrary).

It also cites the president’s announcement that the anti-malaria drug chloroquine would be “available almost immediately” as a treatment for Covid-19, even though there is no established medical evidence the drug is effective against the disease. The taskforce’s top health expert, Anthony Fauci, had to debunk the claim himself in later TV appearances of his own.

Mr Trump has also used the briefings to attack the media for its negative coverage of the epidemic’s progress across the country, and to advance his plan to get the country “open for business” by Easter – something that public health experts say would be a disaster.

While KUOW stands out in its decision to stop broadcasting the briefings altogether, other US broadcasters have lately been backing away from the events citing similar concerns. With the notable exception of Fox News, the major TV networks all cut away from a recent briefing, some after as little as 20 minutes.

Washington was the first state to report a case of Covid-19, in late January; it confirmed the US’s first death from the virus on 1 March.