Dr Anthony Fauci is the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He has been a target of right-wing conservatives who accuse him of being an "alarmist" on the matter of coronavirus. They believe that Fauci is wrongly making coronavirus a big deal.
Now to discredit him further, a right-wing broadcaster is planning to air a show on Sinclair TV. The show will push a conspiracy theory to suggest that Dr Fauci is responsible for the creation of the coronavirus.
According to CNN, the show that is set to go on air over the weekend across the US has anchor Eric Bolling interview medical researcher and conspiracy theorist Judy Mikovits.
Conspiracy theorist on Fauci
Mikovits came to limelight after she appeared in the discredited "plandemic" video that went viral earlier this year in which she blamed Dr Fauci for the death of millions during the early years of HIV/AIDS pandemic. The video was banned from Facebook and YouTube.
According to a clip of the show on Dr Fauci that was posted online ahead of its telecast on weekend, Mikovits told Bolling that Fauci had over the past decade "manufactured" and shipped coronaviruses to Wuhan, China. Throughout the show, the graphic on-screen reads, "DID DR FAUCI CREATE COVID-19?"
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In another segment of the show, anchor Bolling is seen taking an interview with Dr Nicole Saphier, a Fox News medical contributor, to take her opinion on Judy Mikovits's claim.
While she says that she finds it "highly unlikely" that Fauci was behind the coronavirus but goes on to theorize that it was possible the virus was "man-made within a laboratory" and escaped.
Experts deny the claim of coronavirus being manmade
Experts on the issue, however, have denied this claim that coronavirus is manmade. They have refuted this claim after studying the genome of the virus.
Sinclair TV network which is owned by a right-wing conservative David D Smith, is one of the largest networks of TV in the US. According to the Pew research group, Sinclair TV is the main source of information on the coronavirus for many Americans. More people trust Sinclair TV than the national media for their information.
Dr Fauci, recently said that he has been getting serious threats to himself and his family since he became one of the public faces of the federal response to the pandemic. He said that the level of the threat was very disturbing.
Trump called Fauci 'an alarmist'
US President Donald Trump and other right-wing conservative leaders have not been on the same page with Dr Fauci on the matter of response to the coronavirus pandemic. They also differed on their assessment and decision on the timing of reopening schools and business establishments.
President Trump recently characterized Dr Fauci as "a little bit of an alarmist." Fauci refuted the characterization, saying that he was a realist.
