Dr. Fauci is behind the virus.

Dr. Fauci has been prominent in the fight against COVID-19. He did not engineer the virus.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is an infectious diseases expert. He is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, otherwise known as NIAID. He was part of the White House Coronavirus Task Force under President Donald Trump. Dr. Fauci is now the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been numerous conspiracy theories about COVID-19. Some of these conspiracy theories have centered on Dr. Fauci. Specifically, there have been claims that Fauci "engineered" or is "behind" the virus. These claims are not true. It is unclear why Dr. Fauci would want to infect the world's population with a virus; he has dedicated his career to eliminating disease, not creating it. Also, since the start of COVID-19, Dr. Fauci has recommended scientifically uncontroversial measures such as wearing a face mask, social distancing, and washing hands — hardly the actions of someone who wants the virus to flourish. In any case, it is accepted that SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes the disease called COVID-19 — originated in December 2019, in Wuhan, China. According to Nature, researchers from the World Health Organization have found "no evidence that the virus was circulating in the city before December 2019" and have "suggested that SARS-CoV-2 probably first passed to people from an animal." The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organization or your national healthcare authority.