TORONTO -- One of the toughest battles for health officials in the war against COVID-19 has been fighting disinformation and opposition to public safety measures. For Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the source of that opposition has sometimes been standing beside him at press conferences in a thick red tie. U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly floated the idea that injecting a disinfectant somehow cures COVID-19 (it doesnât), defied a state order to wear a mask during a visit to Michigan in May and openly encouraged protesters upset with their stateâs stay-at-home orders. A Cornell University study published in October cited Trump as the biggest driver of COVID-19 disinformation throughout the pandemic.