No, Trey Gowdy didn't write this COVID-19 conspiracy theory

"I’m not saying COVID-19 isn’t real," begins a long statement that Facebook posts are attributing to former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, a Republican from South Carolina. "But pay attention folks, there’s much more going on here than meets the eye." 

The missive questions why, when President Donald Trump is up for re-election, the "stock market tumbles, companies are laying off employees, everything is closed and canceled, CEO’s of giant companies are resigning and indictments are coming."  

"There is something larger going on here driving this sudden outbreak right after Trump beats an impeachment," it says. "Especially the fact that it (corona virus) originated in China who we are in a global trade war with brought on by Trump."

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) 

The statement credited to Gowdy said the coronavirus and the chaos it has wrought on the economy "seems fishy, a little too-well timed if you ask me." 

This post seemed a little fishy to us, and perhaps it’s because Gowdy never said it. 

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stated on January 26, 2020 in an article

Says China "stole Coronavirus from Canada and weaponized it into a Bioweapon."

"Just want to alert folks there is a fraudulent post attributed to me circulating on social media," he posted on his verified Facebook account on April 22. "Not the first time, likely not the last. We have enough going on in our country right now without propagating misinformation." 

Gowdy has spoken publicly about the coronavirus, including recently saying that China needs to be held accountable for the global pandemic. But he didn’t float the conspiracy theory that social media posts are claiming. 

We rate them False.