USA Today, facing backlash, says Navarro opinion piece attacking Fauci does not meet its standards

By Jeremy Barr
7/16/2020, 4:16:13 p.m.

Facing intense criticism on social media, USA Today has admitted errors in an opinion piece written by a White House official that attacked Anthony S. Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious-disease expert, saying in a post-publication note attached to the piece that it “did not meet USA TODAY’s fact-checking standards.”

Published online Tuesday evening and in print Wednesday, the opinion piece was authored by Peter Navarro, who heads the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, and was paired with the provocative headline: “Anthony Fauci has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on.”

On Wednesday evening, editorial page editor Bill Sternberg added a note that explained the piece’s origins as well as its mistakes.

“Navarro’s response echoed comments made to other news outlets in recent days,” he wrote, alluding to talking points critical of Fauci circulated by White House aides. “We felt it was newsworthy because it expanded on those comments, put an on-the-record name to the attacks on Fauci, and contradicted White House denials of an anti-Fauci campaign.”

But he said the piece “did not meet USA TODAY’s fact-checking standards” because of factual errors with “several of Navarro’s criticisms of Fauci.” ...

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