close
close

Association-anemone

Bite-sized brilliance in every update

    • No daily suicide totals were released by the WHO after Trump’s victory
    asane

    No daily suicide totals were released by the WHO after Trump’s victory

    Online Niel Posted on

    play

    If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 any time, day or night, or chat online.

    Claim: The World Health Organization reported over 2,000 suicides on November 6 after Trump’s victory

    An Instagram post from November 6 (direct link, archive link) shows a photo of President-elect Donald Trump.

    The text of the post reads: “2,038 suicides reported today following Donald Trump’s election win.”

    The post includes a screenshot that says “2,038 suicides today,” with the source listed as the World Health Organization’s Suicide Prevention Program.

    The post was liked more than 5,000 times in one day. Other versions of the claim were shared on Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.

    More from the fact-checking team: How we choose and research claims | Newsletter by e-mail | Facebook page

    Our Rating: False

    A WHO spokesman said the claim was false. The organization does not publish daily suicide statistics.

    The claim of post-election suicides is baseless

    trump card won the November 5 presidential election by a larger margin than many national polls predictedwhich caused millions of supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris to react with surprise and sadness.

    But the post’s claim about the WHO reporting an abnormally high number of suicides is baseless.

    Tarik Jašarevića WHO spokesperson told USA TODAY that the organization did not publish the figure shown in the post and does not publish daily data on suicides.

    Of the organization suicide prevention page it says more than 720,000 people die by suicide each year, but does not include information on the daily total. No recent figures are included in the WHO mortality databasewhich hasn’t been updated since February and is the latest worldwide suicide information booklet is based on 2019 data.

    The website includes datasets that categorize suicide rates by age group, sex, country and region, but does not show daily values.

    Fact checking: Raskin didn’t say, “We’re not going to certify the election” for Trump

    Center for Disease Control and Prevention website it also includes monthly and annual suicide rates, but there is no daily monitor.

    There are no credible reports of an abnormally high number of suicides on November 6 from other health agencies or news outlets.

    SAVE Suicide Prevention Organization appraisal that an average of 135 people die by suicide each day in the US, based on CDC data.

    USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

    Our fact-checking sources:

    Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

    USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to impartiality, fairness and transparency. Our fact-checking activity is supported in part by a grant from Meta.

    Online Niel
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like