covid-19 misinformation by governments covid-19 misinformation by governments during the worldwide covid-19 pandemic, many people began to spread false or un-confirmed data and information. this included politicians and other government officials from administrations in several countries. misinformation about the virus includes its origin, how it spreads, and methods of preventing and curing the disease. some downplayed the threat of the pandemic, and made false statements about preventative measures, death rates and testing within their own countries. some have also spread covid-19 vaccine misinformation. changing policies also created confusion and contributed to the spread of misinformation. for example, the world health organization (who) originally discouraged use of face masks by the general public in early 2020, advising "if you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-ncov infection," although the who later changed their advice to encourage public wearing of face masks. jair bolsonaro for broader coverage of this topic, see covid-19 misinformation. part of a series on thecovid-19 pandemicscientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of sars-cov-2. each "ball" is an atom. covid-19 (disease) sars-cov-2 (virus) cases deaths timeline 2019 2020 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2021 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2022 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november december 2023 january february march april may locations by country and territory africa antarctica asia europe north america oceania south america by conveyance cruise ships naval ships international response endemic phase evacuations face masks international aid investigations into origin lockdowns by country misinformation by governments fake treatments social distancing software travel united nations world health organization wto ip waiver undercounting of deaths covid-19 apps zero-covid national responses africa china european union germany ghana india ireland netherlands new zealand nigeria philippines russia sweden uk government us federal government vietnam medical response disease testing breathalyzer development drug development drug repurposing public health mitigation vaccines history research vitt deployment authorizations operation warp speed misinformation and hesitancy us vaccine card vaccine passports current vaccines coronavac covaxin convidecia janssen medigen moderna novavax oxford–astrazeneca pfizer–biontech sinopharm bibp sputnik v variants variants of concern alpha beta gamma delta omicron other variants epsilon zeta eta theta iota kappa lambda mu cluster 5 lineage b.1.617 economic impact and recession arts and culture aviation cannabis cinema films disney fashion financial markets food industry food security journalism music performing arts retail shipping television us sportscasting programs tourism video games by country canada india ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us by sport association football baseball basketball combat sports cricket disc golf gaelic games gridiron football ice hockey motorsport rugby league impacts animals black people crime death rates by country disability domestic violence emergency evacuations education female environment hospitals language lgbt community long-term care media coverage mental health symptoms migration military notable deaths other health issues politics diplomacy popular culture protests pregnancy prisons religion catholic church hajj science and technology social media strikes suicides telehealth xenophobia and racism society ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us covid-19 portal argentina argentinian president alberto fernández and health minister ginés garcía have been accused of spreading misinformation related to covid-19 multiple times. in a radio interview fernández recommended drinking warm drinks since "heat kills the virus". scientific studies proved that this information is false. fernández, in response to criticism, later said: "it's a virus that, according to all medical reports in the world, dies at 26ºc. argentina was in a climatic scenario where temperature was around 30ºc so it would be hard for the virus to survive." he later added: "the world health organization (who) recommends us to drink warm drinks since heat kills the virus"; however, the who did not recommend that at all. in june, in a press conference, buenos aires province governor axel kicillof falsely stated that spain was in an extremely strict lockdown at that time. a few hours later, the spanish embassy in argentina denied it. brazil brazilian president jair bolsonaro openly attempted to force state and municipal governments to revoke social isolation measures they had begun by launching an anti-lockdown campaign called "o brasil não pode parar" (brazil can't stop). it received massive backlash both from the media and from the public, and was blocked by the supreme court justice. even after the brazilian health regulatory agency approved the usage of coronavac and the oxford–astrazeneca covid-19 vaccine, bolsonaro said "these are experimental vaccines with no scientific evidence". bolsonaro also rails against face mask usage and is commonly seen in public without wearing a mask. in spite of studies showing the ineffectiveness of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19, the brazilian president continued to peddle the drug in posts and live webinars on social media. some analysts have noted that bolsonaro's positions mimic those of former us president donald trump, who during his administration also tried to downplay the pandemic and then pressured states to abandon social distancing. cambodia