BONNER COUNTY, Idaho — Facebook has marked a YouTube video about coronavirus shared by Idaho Rep. Heather Scott (R-Blanchard) as "false information" after an independent fact-check.
Scott shared the YouTube video, titled “1st documentary movie on the origin of CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, Tracking Down the Origin of the Wuhan Coronavirus,” to her Facebook page on Saturday, April 11.
The video, which was posted to YouTube on April 7, has more than 1.6 million views.
“This is a great technical documentary tracking the source of the virus and explains some of the reason for fear,” Scott wrote in the post.
The YouTube video's description misidentifies the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as the Chinese Communist Party virus.
A message from Facebook says Scott's post was deemed false information because “the primary claims in the information are factually inaccurate." The company references a fact-check from Health Feedback that indicates the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection is of natural origin rather than the result of human engineering.
COVID-19 is caused by a new coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a betacoronavirus, like MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. All three of these viruses have their origins in bats.
KREM has reached out to Rep. Scott for her response.
Rep. Scott recently voiced her concerns about Idaho’s statewide stay-at-home order on the Idaho Legislature's website, echoing comments from Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler.
RELATED: Bonner Co. Sheriff wants stay-home order reversed, claims 'COVID-19 is nothing like the Plague'
"I think we all remember the 'Never let a crisis go to waste' agenda of just a few years ago that served as a way to chip away at the foundations of our Constitution to push a global, socialistic agenda while in the midst of a national emergency," Scott wrote.
The order was announced by Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, on March 25. It was extended through at least April 30 on Wednesday.
The order requires everyone in the state to self-isolate at home if possible. It applies to all citizens, not just those who are sick.
Healthcare workers, public safety workers, and other "essential" workers may still go to work, and people will be allowed to leave their homes to obtain or provide essential services.
