Trump’s administration has redesigned covid.gov – with attacks on Fauci, the WHO, and Biden. The lab leak theory is at the center of it all. Reuters and AP report.

With Donald Trump’s inauguration in the White House, it is not only the tone of US politics that is changing – the official handling of the coronavirus pandemic is also being reevaluated. As reported by the news agency Reuters, among others, the Trump administration has completely redesigned the website covid.gov and is now using it for a politically motivated review of the pandemic.

The slogan “Lab Leak” now emblazoned across the homepage, framed by a picture of the president. With this, the new administration is publicly promoting the theory that the coronavirus is not of natural origin, but escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. This theory had already been put forward by some of Trump’s associates during his first term in office, but was long considered a conspiracy theory.

Fauci in the crosshairs

A particular target of the new narrative is Dr. Anthony Fauci, former chief immunologist of the United States. According to a report by the Associated Press (AP) on April 18, 2025, Fauci is openly accused on the government website of deliberately suppressing the lab leak theory and instead promoting the idea that the virus was transmitted naturally. The Trump administration is portraying him as a symbol of failed pandemic policy, including criticism of lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccination campaigns.

Back in January, President Biden had already preventively pardoned his long-time health advisor to protect him from legal consequences under a new Republican administration – a move that caused a stir in Washington, as AP also reports. Shortly after his return to the Oval Office, Trump then had Fauci’s personal security detail withdrawn, even though he has been under massive threats for years.

Lab leak: US intelligence agencies still divided

The new statement on covid.gov refers to assessments by US intelligence agencies that a laboratory origin of the virus is considered “more plausible” than transmission via an animal intermediate host. As reported by Reuters, the CIA assessed the lab leak theory as “more likely” in January 2025 – albeit with “low confidence” in this conclusion.

The international scientific community remains divided. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently stated that there is no clear evidence of a laboratory origin – but equally no evidence of natural transmission. The US government, on the other hand, is using the new leeway to settle political scores with the past.

Political revenge or clarification?

Critics accuse the Trump administration of retrospectively turning the pandemic into a political weapon. They say the redesign of the official government website is not a contribution to clarification, but a deliberate attempt to control the narrative and discredit former opponents.

In a commentary on US television, epidemiologist Dr. Peter Hotez said, “What we are seeing here is not health information, but propaganda in the guise of official government education.”