Fake news: US has not fired Dr Anthony Fauci

PUNE: Fake news on the pandemic's origins surfaced again this week with many posts claiming the White House chief medical advisor, Dr Anthony Fauci, had been sacked. The fake posts, found across social media platforms, also said the US has “admitted” the coronavirus is “man made”.These posts are fake. The Biden administration has not sacked Dr Fauci and nor has it said that the coronavirus is man-made.Dr Fauci is often the target of fringe groups that claim the coronavirus was unleashed by a global alliance. Conspiracy theorists have claimed that he knew from the start that SARS-CoV-2 was a result of Chinese lab experiments.They cite a January 2020 exchange of emails between Dr Fauci and a biologist who wrote that certain “unusual features" hint at human intervention. Dr Fauci responded to the suspicion by calling for a probe into the origins. Those investigations are ongoing.