Please note!
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 If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Did Sen. Richard Burr reduce his stock exposure ahead of the coronavirus stock market selloff?
Saturday, May 2, 2020
By Remaya Campbell
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YES
Sen. Richard Burr, Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, received a briefing on the coronavirus on Jan. 24. He and another senator published an opinion piece on Fox News addressing the threat from the virus on Feb. 7.
On Feb. 13, according to public filings, he sold at least $628,000 of a previously disclosed $1.3 million in equity holdings. Stock prices were then near records, but began to decline sharply later in February as worries about the coronavirus grew.
On March 20, Sen. Burr, saying he was acting solely on public news reports at the time, asked the Senate ethics committee to conduct a full investigation.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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