Editorial: Hoaxes pop up again

Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 16, 2021

Unfortunately, we live in an age of misinformation and this is especially true with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whether it’s junk science peddled by certain local talk radio hosts, misinformed statements from politicians or fake news on social media, people have to be vigilant of hoaxes which can alarm or endanger the public.

And some of them simply won’t go away and tend to resurface, such as a claim that the National Guard is mobilizing troops to enforce a country-wide quarantine.

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We first saw this hit the Web last March and it seems to have gained a new life in recent weeks. And, as was the case in 2020, it is not true in the least.

As the Guard points out in responding to the hoax’s second wind, the information in a flyer circulating is “100 percent false” and their mission related to COVID-19 does not fall under the Department of Homeland Security, supposedly in charge of this imaginary scenario.

The Guard’s activities during COVID-19 are corodnated by the governor’s of each state and none are planning such a quarantine.

So military lockdown is NOT coming.

The only way to combat misinformation is to debunk and stand up to it,.

If you see this hoax turn up in your social feeds or hear about it in conversation, be sure to point out that it is simply not based in reality.