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FACT CHECK: Did Rudy Giuliani Tweet That It Is ‘Highly Likely’ People Contract COVID-19 By ‘Having Sex With Barnyard Animals’?

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An image shared on Facebook shows an alleged tweet from former New York City Mayor and President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani reading, “I think it’s highly likely that all these people that have contracted the China Virus got it from having sex with barnyard animals.”

Verdict: False

There is no record of Giuliani tweeting or deleting this message.

Fact Check:

Trump announced in a Dec. 6 tweet that Giuliani had tested positive for COVID-19, stating, “@RudyGiuliani, by far the greatest mayor in the history of NYC, and who has been working tirelessly exposing the most corrupt election (by far!) in the history of the USA, has tested positive for the China Virus.” Giuliani appeared to confirm this in a tweet later that day, writing that he is “getting great care and feeling good.”

Screen grabs of an alleged tweet sent by Giuliani in October have been shared countless times on social media in response to his positive coronavirus test. The purported tweet reads: “I think it’s highly likely that all these people that have contracted the China Virus got it from having sex with barnyard animals.”

However, there is no record of Giuliani actually sending the tweet. The Daily Caller News Foundation searched his verified Twitter account, @RudyGiuliani, as well as ProPublica’s archive of his deleted tweets, but found no comments resembling the tweet. Had Giuliani sent such a tweet, media outlets would have almost certainly reported on it, yet no such reports appear to exist.

This is not the first time a fake Giuliani tweet has spread on social media. In November, Check Your Fact debunked the false claim that he sent a tweet that reads, “I have substantial evidence of fraud and I can confirm that we have Dominion in our hands and are analyzing the logs.”