Covid.gov website redirects users to 'scary' page claiming to reveal the 'true origins' of Covid
The new site pushes conspiracy claims about Covid-19
Featured Image Credit: Yuichiro Chino / Getty
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Donald Trump has made a series of controversial decisions.
From first appointing Elon Musk as a top advisor of DOGE and supporting major cuts to federal programs like NASA, he is now enforcing new tariffs that have caused tension around rising costs that could ultimately reshape the tech industry.
In the meantime, President Trump hasn't held back from pointing the finger at Biden for everything from economic troubles to why NASA astronauts were stuck on the International Space Station for so long.
Now, a website called Covid.gov that used to provide information about the virus now redirects users to a website filled with conspiracy theories.
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The former public health website now displays a prominent banner with the words: 'Lab Leak: The True Origins of Covid-19' and a photo of Donald Trump.
Additionally, Covidtests.gov, where you used to order free covid tests, similarly redirects to the new webpage.
The new site pushes the claim that COVID was leaked from a lab in China due to 'inadequate biosafety levels' and argues that the virus shows 'biological characteristics not found in nature.'
It reads: "By nearly all measures of science, if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced. But it hasn’t."
The newly named WhiteHouse.gov website also criticises the Biden administration, suggesting officials misled the public and 'demonized alternative treatments.'
On top of that, the page claims that the WHO (World Health Organization) 'caved to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party' and 'placed China’s political interests ahead of its international duties.'
Based on archived versions of the site, the switch appears to have happened sometime after 10 April, but exact dates are unknown.
What used to offer resources about the virus now includes a link to the House Oversight Committee report, which also promotes the lab leak theory.
Since February, several government web pages have been taken down or rewritten to match the administration’s views, including topics on climate change, racial equity and gender identity.
On Reddit, viewers have been sharing direct links to the new version of the COVID page in case it gets updated again.
"Unsurprisingly, the website is full of completely false information as well," one user wrote.
"COVID is just a cold and isn’t serious. The numbers are made up. also," another used replied. "Evil China leaked this deadly virus and tried to cover it up! same crowd".
Someone else pointed out: "This is propaganda. It is a lot of misinformation dressed up as facts to push a narrative that is more favorable for this administration."