Fox News linked fish tank cleaner to Trump's recommended coronavirus treatment. A man who drank it died. - Media Matters for America

Fox News linked fish tank cleaner to Trump's recommended coronavirus treatment. A man who drank it died. - Media Matters for America


Fox News linked fish tank cleaner to Trump's recommended coronavirus treatment. A man who drank it died. - Media Matters for America

Posted: 25 Mar 2020 12:48 PM PDT

The Fox article hypes the spike in prices of fish tank cleaners containing chloroquine phosphate without clearly explaining that outside of its approved pharmaceutical form and dosage, chloroquine phosphate can be toxic and deadly -- though it does mention that it's not for "human consumption" at the end of the third paragraph. Considering most Americans don't read past the headline of an article, it is not only irresponsible but outright idiotic for Fox to imply such equivalence in the article title during a pandemic when people are desperate to find ways to protect themselves.

The article also stated that "President Trump announced in a press conference Thursday that chloroquine phosphate -- a substance found in drugs used to treat malaria and severe arthritis -- was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to test as a treatment for the coronavirus." (The FDA has not approved the drug for treatment of COVID-19.) As of this morning, the article remains live on Fox's website, without any updates or clarifications.

It wasn't just Fox News, either. Articles like this were elsewhere in right-wing media. There was a similar article in News Corp's New York Post:

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