Chris Cuomo Told Viewers Not to Take Ivermectin Then Said He Was Taking a Regular Dose

Claim 1: In 2021 Chris Cuomo told people not to take ivermectin and called it poison

Verdict: True.

• The post: The X post from @mazemoore (August 30, 2026) put 2021 Cuomo next to 2024 Cuomo. The 2021 side is a paraphrase of two CNN hits on August 23, 2021, not a two-sentence quote he read off a card.
• Prime Time: On Cuomo Prime Time that night he said people misled by "demagogues" would "rather try poison than a real cure." The next sentences name the drug. He said some Americans were taking a livestock anti-parasitic for COVID, that it "doesn't work," that at least two people in Mississippi had been hospitalized after taking ivermectin, that "it is a dewormer," that it is "not a COVID cure," and "Please don't take it."

“And he gave birth to a new wave of demagogues, who are misleading, just like he did, making people so resistant to reason, and relying on lies that they would rather try poison than a real cure.”

• The handoff: Minutes later, tossing to Don Lemon Tonight, Lemon brought up people "injecting drugs for animals and horse." Cuomo cut in: "And people telling them to." Then: "Ivermectin, a dewormer, really?" When Lemon said they were shaming themselves, Cuomo said they "need to be called out and shamed, brother."

“What person – you know, you talk about cancel culture and who to shame. Ivermectin, a dewormer, really? … They need to be called out and shamed, brother.”

• The wording: He did not say the exact caption "Don't take ivermectin. It's poison." He did tell viewers not to take it, called it a dewormer, and used "poison" in that same opening for the people taking the livestock drug instead of the shot. That is the 2021 half of the X post.

In plain language:

Yes. On August 23, 2021 he told CNN viewers not to take ivermectin, called it a dewormer, and said people would rather try poison than a real cure.

Claim 2: In 2024 Chris Cuomo said he was taking ivermectin and that everyone knew it couldn't hurt you

Verdict: True.

• The podcast: On May 7, 2024 Cuomo was on Patrick Bet-David's PBD Podcast. Valuetainment posted the ivermectin passage the same day. He said he was taking "a regular dose" of ivermectin, that it had been "a boogeyman early on in COVID," that "that was wrong," and that "we were given bad information about ivermectin."
• "Everyone knows": The X post shortens what he said next. The line on the podcast is that "the entire clinical community knew that ivermectin couldn't hurt you," not the word "everyone." He also said Joe Rogan "was right," then added that was not what mattered.

“I am taking a regular dose of Ivermectin. Ivermectin was a boogeyman early on in COVID. That was wrong. We were given bad information about Ivermectin. The real question is, why? … What matters is the entire clinical community knew that Ivermectin couldn’t hurt you. They knew it, Patrick. I know they knew it.”

In plain language:

Yes. In May 2024 he said he was taking a regular dose of ivermectin and that the clinical community knew it couldn’t hurt you.