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As Donald Trump speaks at the White House, the Daily Beast reports that Diamond and Silk, prominent African American supporters of the president, have lost their slot at Fox News due to their “bonkers coronavirus claims”.

There’s no official confirmation that the “MAGA vlogging superstars” will no longer appear on Fox Nation, Fox News’ streaming service, but the Beast reports:

The sudden split comes after the Trump-boosting siblings have come under fire for promoting conspiracy theories and disinformation about the coronavirus. “After what they’ve said and tweeted you won’t be seeing them on Fox Nation or Fox News anytime soon,” a source with knowledge of the matter told The Daily Beast.

Among such conspiracy theories and disinformation spread by Lynette “Diamond” Hardaway and Rochelle “Silk” Richardson:

the number of US coronavirus deaths has been inflated to make Trump look bad

the disease was “man-made” and “engineered”

that people should expose themselves to the virus by breaking lockdown

that Bill Gates wants to develop vaccines in order to practice population control

that 5G technology might be being used to infect people and fill up hospitals

No word from Diamond and Silk either, though their Twitter account has been active all day. Trump has been cross with Fox News on Twitter recently, so you’d think the Beast report might provoke presidential comment before long…

Lynnette Hardaway, Rochelle Richardson and Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House in February. Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Debate over Fox News’ role in spreading disinformation about Covid-19 has become a prominent part of media coverage of the outbreak. Here’s David Smith’s look at the network’s close relationship with the Trump administration, from earlier this month.