Blake Shelton Is Fake News! Fans Slam Singer Over False COVID-19 Stat
Blake Shelton received a massive backlash after sparking controversy with his COVID-19 tweet.
"The Voice" judge fell victim to a fake coronavirus update, prompting his followers to call him out.
According to the post, which originated from Facebook, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allegedly changed its numbers "quietly" to emphasize "that only 6%" of fatalities have died from the virus and that "the other 94% had 2-3 other serious illnesses."
Meanwhile, the "Nobody but You" hitmaker took to Twitter to express his thoughts regarding the "baseless QAnon conspiracy theory."
"I'm not even sure which side(politically) this would land on. But am I the only person who sees the new CDC update as some actual good news? Just that. Not left or right... Just updated info that's better than we thought. I mean, does everything have to be a fight these days?" Sheltonwrote.
Blake Shelton Sparks Twitter Outrage
Fans were quick to respond and called out Shelton for spreading wrong information about the pandemic statistics.
"To test LESS? So we know even less about where the virus is and where we need to head It Off? Insane," one Twitter user wrote.
Shelton then apologized for confusing his followers, as he mentioned that he was not looking for any argument and was referring to the "6% news."
Another fan also pointed out that the 44-year-old country singer should do his "research" first before posting information.
"Do some actual research, Blake. A majority of the damn country has pre-existing health conditions. A lot don't even know they have them. So, if they contract COVID, it's okay because those without will probably live? If you don't understand the info, just don't say anything."
The "God Gave Me You" artist then replied and clarified his point.
"This is what I'm talking about.. I'm not going to argue at all because I'm not advocating for anything. What is the fight? Covid is horrifying. That's it."
U.S. President Donald Trump Victimized By QAnon Conspiracy Theory
Aside from the country music singer and T.V. personality, U.S. President Donald Trump was also victimized by the fake news after retweeting the false CDC death count claim.
According to CNN, Twitter immediately took down the post as it "violates" the platform rules.
However, Trump's second tweet, which contains the same false claim, has not been removed by Twitter.
The said post was retweeted by the U.S. President from his campaign adviser Jenna Ellis, linking an article on the right-wing website Gateway Pundit.
CDC Claims They Did Not Reduce Coronavirus Death Count
In response, CDC set the record straight and opposed the conspiracy theory. Put simply, what Shelton tweeted was unfounded and not true.
The health protection agency insisted that they did not "backpedal" on the number of death tolls caused by the global pandemic.
ABC News also cited that the CDC figures "is based on an analysis of death certificates that mention COVID-19 as a cause. For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned."