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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Have no politicians died from COVID-19?

By Dana Ford
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NO

A pensive-looking Will Smith is being used in social media to illustrate the claim, "When there's a deadly worldwide virus but it hasn't killed any politicians:"

In fact, 18 U.S. politicians at various levels and quite a few politicians in other countries have passed away from COVID-19.

Probably the best-known one was Herman Cain, who ran for president in 2012. So did Colombia's defense minister, Brazilian senators and a number of African leaders.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Ballotpedia Government official, politician, and candidate deaths, diagnoses, and quarantines due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021
Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.