As the threat of the coronavirus escalated, The Daily Wire and The Western Journal used a total of 50 Facebook pages to amplify their articles praising President Donald Trump’s response, attacking the president’s critics, and fearmongering against Asians and immigrants. The amplification from these networks of affiliated Facebook pages resulted in the articles earning millions of reactions, comments, and shares on Facebook.

There have been many instances of right-wing media amplifying misinformation and sharing and spreading it across social media platforms, where it reaches thousands or millions of social media feeds. This propaganda machine plays a vital role in recycling right-wing talking points, and it kicked into high gear when right-wing media outlets and figures started pushing talking points downplaying the threat of COVID-19 and eventually praising the Trump administration’s response to the threat.

Over time, these talking points evolved. Initially, Trump and his allies pushed conspiracy theories and downplayed the threat of the virus. Later, amid widespread criticism that the administration did not do enough to prepare and was not doing enough to combat the coronavirus, the severity of the situation could no longer be ignored and Trump and right-wing media shifted their rhetoric, praising the administration’s response, continuing attacks on his critics, and fearmongering about Asians and immigrants.

The Daily Wire and The Western Journal have at least 17 and 33 affiliated Facebook pages, respectively, and these right-wing outlets can amplify talking points and narratives to the news feeds of the millions of accounts that like their pages. 

The Daily Wire uses a network of Facebook pages that almost exclusively promote content from its website. Its 17 Facebook pages have nearly 15 million page likes in total, which can bump posts onto the news feeds of accounts that liked the page. These pages include its official Facebook page, The Daily Wire (about 2 million page likes); the official pages for its hosts, Ben Shapiro (nearly 5.6 million page likes), Michael Knowles (nearly 914,000 page likes), and Matt Walsh (nearly 717,000 page likes); and 13 lesser known pages that, until January, did not disclose their affiliation to The Daily Wire:

• The Angry Patriot: nearly 1.1 million page likes

• Fed-Up Americans: over 888,000 page likes

• Donald Trump is My President: over 660,000 page likes

• The Real Patriots: over 570,000 page likes 

• Conservative News: over 544,000 page likes

• Restless Patriot: over 490,000 page likes

• The United Patriots: over 342,000 page likes

• Pro-America News: over 285,000 page likes

• The Conservative: over 209,000 page likes

• The Right News: over 205,000 page likes

• Boycott: over 150,000 page likes 

• Lady Patriots: over 82,000 page likes

• Don't Mess with America: nearly 77,000 page likes

Media Matters reviewed all posts about the coronavirus made on these Facebook pages between January 1, 2020, and 10:10 a.m. EST March 24, 2020, and found that 96.8% of the posts include a link, all of which link to The Daily Wire. For most of these articles, each page posted the article at least once, with The Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro, Michael Knowles, and Matt Walsh posting the articles multiple times each. Notably, Shapiro’s posts earned about 74% of all the interactions.

This widespread article sharing helps The Daily Wire push its misinformation and fearmongering. For example, Shapiro, Knowles, and Walsh simultaneously shared a March 15 Daily Wire article that reiterated Trump’s misleading and misrepresented claim that Google was building a national website to track the spread of coronavirus. The Daily Wire’s article was also shared by the additional 13 pages in the site’s Facebook network and earned over 65,000 total interactions (reactions, shares, comments), most of which came from Shapiro’s post. These Facebook pages posted the article within 20 minutes of each other:

Media Matters’ review identified 10 articles about coronavirus that earned the most interactions from posts in The Daily Wire’s Facebook network. All of these articles perpetuated misinformation, fearmongering, and/or narratives that right-wing media outlets and figures have promoted since the first cases of the virus in Wuhan, China, were made public.

Praising Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic

• The Daily Wire’s article titled “‘Buy American!’ President Trump To Sign Executive Order Ending Reliance On Chinese Medical Supplies,” earned nearly 305,000 interactions on Facebook. The article listed several expected actions by the Trump administration, painting the actions in a positive light and quoting only from a White House memo, a White House official, a Republican senator, the new Congressional Supply Chain Caucus, and other news reports.

• In another article, The Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra praised Trump for donating his quarterly salary to combat coronavirus, but he failed to mention how Trump profits from his presidency, his policy failures on coronavirus, or his frequent efforts to downplay the virus. This article, which earned nearly 285,000 interactions on Facebook, said that the donation “will make it even harder for his critics.” 

• In a March 14 article about Trump declaring a national day of prayer, The Daily Wire boasted that the stock market surged “more than 3% as Trump was speaking.” The article, which earned over 150,000 interactions on Facebook, went on to say that it was “the largest point gain in history,” but it failed to disclose that the market had cratered in the days before.

Attacking Democrats and media outlets critical of Trump

• In an article published on March 9, The Daily Wire promoted a segment in which Dr. Drew Pinsky claimed that media outlets are “hurting people” and “need to be held accountable” for causing panic around coronavirus. The article, which earned over 413,000 interactions on Facebook, specifically highlighted quotes from Pinsky downplaying the threat of coronavirus and saying that people should be more worried about the flu. These comments were part of a broad right-wing media effort to downplay the virus. 

• After some Democrats criticized Trump for declaring a national day of prayer instead of taking more concrete action to combat the virus, The Daily Wire’s Amanda Prestigiacomo wrote an article attacking these critics. The article, which earned nearly 342,000 interactions on Facebook, called Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) “highly sensitive … because she was ‘triggered’ by hearing the name of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.”

• As Congress negotiated a stimulus relief bill, The Daily Wire published several articles that blamed Democrats, especially Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). In one article, The Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra said Democrats “blocked” a bill that would “provide relief to American families,” but Saavedra failed to note that negotiations were still ongoing or mention any of the nuanced reasons that Democrats voted against the Republicans’ proposed bill. The article, which was published on March 23, has already earned nearly 960,000 interactions on Facebook.

• In another article, The Daily Wire’s Saavedra promoted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) response to Congress’ initial failure to pass a stimulus relief bill. The article, which earned over 541,000 interactions on Facebook, is mostly composed of quotes from McConnell and includes a video of his speech on the Senate floor, but did not quote any Democrats.

• The Daily Wire also published an article on March 23 promoting Rep. Dan Crenshaw’s (R-TX) response to the failure to pass a relief bill, which also blamed Democrats. According to the article, Crenshaw said Democrats “torpedoed” the bill because Pelosi was just pulling a “political stunt” to push a “Democratic wishlist.” The article, which earned over 355,000 interactions, also embedded multiple tweets from Crenshaw and did not quote any Democrats.

Fearmongering about China and Chinese immigrants

• The Daily Wire’s article “328 Chinese Nationals Caught Trying To Illegally Enter U.S. At Southern Border” reports misleading claims from right-wing outlet The Washington Times. According to PolitiFact, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) apprehends about five Chinese nationals a day at the southern border, which represents a small percentage of overall daily apprehensions. Both The Washington Times and The Daily Wire misrepresented these facts and inaccurately conflated the situation with the spread of coronavirus. The Washington Times article earned about 42,000 interactions on Facebook, while The Daily Wire article earned more than 10 times those interactions on Facebook, with nearly 440,000.

• In another article, The Daily Wire’s Ashe Schow reported that CBP intercepted a package that was filled with dead birds and fearmongered about China by connecting the report to coronavirus. Schow wrote, “The ordeal is made more disturbing by the fact that the suitcase was sent from China, which is currently dealing with the coronavirus and has struggled in the past with a bird flu epidemic.” This article earned over 345,000 interactions on Facebook.

The Western Journal uses similar tactics as The Daily Wire, using its Facebook pages almost exclusively to promote its own articles. These pages have over 27 million page likes in total. They include Western Journal’s official Facebook page, The Western Journal (5.1 million page likes); two of its other popular pages, The Tea Party Community by WJ (3 million page likes) and Conservative Tribune by WJ (4.2 million page likes); and 30 additional pages (15.2 million page likes). Some of the pages in the network are specific to a topic such as sports news and news about Trump.

Media Matters reviewed all posts about coronavirus made on these Facebook pages between January 1, 2020, and 10:10 a.m. EST March 24, 2020, and found that 98.9% of the posts include a link, all of which link to The Western Journal. Unlike The Daily Wire, whose affiliated pages posted links to most articles at least once, The Western Journal-affiliated pages did not all link to every article. Notably, posts on Western Journal’s official Facebook page, The Western Journal, earned only 37.1% of all the pages’ interactions. The other Facebook pages earned the majority of interactions, demonstrating the importance of The Western Journal’s network. The Tea Party Community by WJ and Conservative Tribune by WJ earned 45.8% of the interactions.

Media Matters’ review identified 10 articles about coronavirus that earned the most interactions from posts in The Western Journal’s Facebook network. All of these articles were published by The Western Journal and perpetuated the same talking points spread by The Daily Wire’s network, which includes promoting praise for Trump’s actions regarding the pandemic and attacking Trump’s critics.

Praising Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic

• The Western Journal published an op-ed by former Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-NY) that called on people “to put politics aside and respect Trump’s leadership on coronavirus.” In the op-ed, which earned over 151,000 interactions on Facebook, Hayworth identifies herself as a “physician who’s served in Congress,” but she does not note her party affiliation. Hayward praised Trump, who she claims “acted quickly,” and said he was “right” while critics of his response were “wrong.”

• In an article published in the news section on March 3, The Western Journal reported that Trump would be donating his quarterly salary to combat coronavirus and listed other government agencies to which Trump has donated his quarterly salaries. The article, which earned over 71,000 interactions on Facebook, failed to mention how Trump not only profits from his presidency, but also has frequently downplayed the virus. Instead, the article only quoted Trump, who claimed that his administration has “taken the most aggressive action,” along with his press secretary and other publications.

• In its news section, The Western Journal reported that “a medical expert is praising the Trump administration for its response to the coronavirus.” This “medical expert” is Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel who spent years misinforming about and attacking the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Before March 13, Siegel made at least 47 weekday appearances to discuss the pandemic on Fox News. The article earned over 113,000 interactions on Facebook.

• The Western Journal’s article titled “Trump Suspends 1938 Road Law, Gives Truckers Green Light To Move Emergency Supplies” praises Trump for “cutting through red tape.” The article, which earned over 146,000 interactions on Facebook, quotes Trump and others who praised the administration’s response.

Attacking Democrats and media outlets critical of Trump

• In an article published March 12, The Western Journal reported on an "exclusive" from The Daily Caller alleging that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “pushed to include [a] Hyde Amendment loophole into [the] coronavirus stimulus plan.” This allegation was debunked by FactCheck.org. Regardless, The Daily Caller's original article earned nearly 269,000 interactions on Facebook, while The Western Journal article earned over 308,000 interactions on Facebook.

• In an effort to downplay the threat of coronavirus, right-wing outlets pushed misinformation that the coronavirus was less dangerous than the flu. The Western Journal published an article with this misinformation, even saying that the “media” are “promoting panic.” This article earned nearly 760,000 interactions on Facebook. 

• A February 24 article from The Western Journal promoted right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh’s claim that the coronavirus is “being used by media to tank Trump's economy.” This article earned nearly 302,000 interactions on Facebook.

• The Western Journal published an article promoting social media posts from Mark Levin, another right-wing radio host, which attacked Pelosi. In the article, The Western Journal blamed Democrats for Congress’ initial failure to pass a stimulus relief bill, saying that “they never let a crisis go to waste” and “will push the kind of leftist agenda points that could not pass in normal legislation.” The article earned over 126,000 interactions on Facebook.

• In an article published in The Western Journal’s commentary section, political pundit Carmine Sabia attacked actor Alyssa Milano, claiming she represented the kind of “brain trust that the Democrats have on their team.” This article earned nearly 111,000 interactions on Facebook. 

• Right-wing media frequently attack career federal employees as the “deep state.” In its commentary section, The Western Journal published an article pushing this conspiracy theory to claim that the “deep state” is using coronavirus to fearmonger and “suppress dissent”; it earned nearly 283,000 interactions.

Media Matters compiled and reviewed data, including total interactions (reactions, comments, and shares), on Facebook posts that mentioned coronavirus from 17 Facebook pages known to be associated with The Daily Wire and from 33 Facebook pages known to be associated with The Western Journal that were posted between January 1, 2020, and 10:10 a.m. EST March 24, 2020. We defined posts that mentioned coronavirus as any post that had any of the following keywords in the post’s message, link, article headline, or article description: “coronavirus,” “corona virus,” “covid-19,” “covid 19,” “covid19,” “wuhan virus,” “wuhan flu,” “chinese virus,” “chinese flu,” “china virus,” “china flu,” or “kung flu.”

The following Facebook pages are associated with The Daily Wire: Ben Shapiro, Michael Knowles, Daily Wire, Matt Walsh, Donald Trump is My President, Restless Patriot, Conservative News, The Angry Patriot, Fed-Up Americans, The United Patriots, The Real Patriots, The Right News, The Conservative, Boycott, Lady Patriots, Pro-America News, and Don't Mess With America.

The following Facebook pages are associated with The Western Journal: The Western Journal, Conservative Tribune by WJ, The Tea Party Community by WJ, Western Journal US News, Western Journal Opinion, Western Journal Politics, Liftable by WJ, Jefferson Newsletter by WJ, Donald Trump News by WJ, Raising Red by WJ, Conservative Update by WJ, Donald J Trump News by WJ, Western Journal Polls, Trump News by WJ, Patriot Update by WJ, Conservative 50 Plus by WJ, Rebirth of Freedom by WJ, Ben Carson News by WJ, Hillary Watch by WJ, Conservative Alerts by WJ, Conservative Alliance by WJ, Conservative Byte by WJ, Western Journal Media Watch, Minutemen News by WJ, Team Tebow by WJ, Congress Watch by WJ, Ted Cruz News by WJ, Patriot Times by WJ, The Wildcard by WJ, Patriot Tribune by WJ, Buzzpo By WJ, Liftable Life by WJ, and Conservative Videos by WJ.