Hypocrisy gone viral? Officials set bad COVID-19 examples

PARIS (AP) — Few countries seem immune to the perception that politicians and officials are bending the safety rules that their own governments wrote during the pandemic. From U.S. President Donald Trump to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, global decision-makers have frequently set bad examples, whether it’s refusing to wear masks or breaking confinement rules aimed at protecting their populations from COVID-19. Some are punished when they’re caught, others publicly repent, while a few just shrug off the violations. The coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 350,000 lives.