Record of the Press · 2012–Present
Released to the public · 31 OCT 2026File TBL-0037
BAD CALL

Early 2020: 'Worry About the Flu, Not Coronavirus'

28 JAN 2020 · BuzzFeed News, The Washington Post
Screenshot of the page as published at washingtonpost.com (via Wayback Machine)
EXHIBIT A — Page capture from washingtonpost.com (via Wayback Machine). Click to open the source.

■ The claim

In late January 2020, prominent headlines told Americans the flu was a bigger worry than the new coronavirus.

■ What actually happened

BuzzFeed News ran a January 28, 2020 piece headlined 'Don't Worry About the Coronavirus. Worry About the Flu.' The Washington Post's late-January story, printed around February 1, said the flu was a much bigger threat than coronavirus for now. To be fair, both reflected what many public-health experts were saying then, when U.S. cases were very few, and the Post's headline did say 'for now'. Within six weeks the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and it became far deadlier in the U.S. than a typical flu season.

■ The proof

The WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, and U.S. COVID deaths soon far exceeded typical seasonal flu deaths.

■ Original reporting

■ Corrections, findings & records

■ Wayback Machine copies

Stories sometimes get edited after publication. These links open the Internet Archive's earliest snapshot of each original.

■ Grade

BAD CALL: A confident prediction or dismissal that turned out wrong. Not a lie, but on the record. How we grade →