US President Trump has become subject to another fact-check warning on social media after claiming immunity to COVID-19.
In a tweet posted on Sunday[1], the US president claimed that physicians at the White House have given him a clean bill of health, and as a result, he is now "immune" to further infection by the novel coronavirus.
Trump also claimed he is no longer contagious.
See also: Twitter places public interest notice on President Trump's tweet[2]
"A total and complete sign off from White House Doctors yesterday," the tweet reads. "That means I can't get it (immune), and can't give it. Very nice to know!!!"
After the message was published, Twitter slapped a warning label on the tweet. The microblogging platform says the tweet "violated the Twitter Rules about spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19."
There are currently no concrete indicators that immunity from COVID-19 is assured following infection, and if resistance is built up due to the production of antibodies, it is not possible to know if an immune response is strong enough to fight off another case of the respiratory illness.
In a statement[3] on Saturday, White House physician Sean Conley said that Trump was no longer considered a "transmission risk to others," but did not disclose if the president is now testing negative.
CNET: Huawei ban timeline: UK says there's 'clear evidence of collusion' between Huawei and China[4]
While Twitter may wipe out such messages and remove profiles entirely if they are spreading fake content surrounding the pandemic, as Trump is a significant political figure, the organization has chosen to keep the tweet accessible in the public interest.
This is not the first time the US president has