An emergency management director in western Iowa is urging people in Iowa and Nebraska to do their part to prevent the spread of rumors about the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The magnitude of misinformation online when it comes to the coronavirus has officials asking for cooperation.
"I spend as much time combating rumors as I do try to do my job and get the real story out there," Mike Crecelius, emergency management director for Fremont County, Iowa, told WOWT-6 News. He says the amount of harm caused by misinformation online is staggering.
“It scares people,” Crecelius says. “Go to the grocery store and see the empty shelves. People telling stories like this panic the population.”
He points to an email that’s been circulating that falsely states that the Army National Guard is going to be involved in a national lockdown. He says this is not true.
“You know closing down state borders or things like that that we’ve heard just really don’t have any basis in reality,” Maj. Scott Ingalsbe with the Nebraska National Guard told WOWT-6 News.
He said if they do get involved you will hear about it officially. “When the National Guard does activate members to assist, it’s never done secretly,” Maj. Ingalsbe says. “It’s about as publicly announced as any military operation can be because we’re coming to the aid of our neighbors.”
Crecelius recommends turning to reliable news sources and government websites for accurate information. He says if you’re not sure about something, don't share it.
“They just go out they pick something up from someone else and they immediately, without researching it, post it,” Crecelius told 6 News. “And then someone else picks it and it becomes a three-headed monster.”
Neither the Iowa or Nebraska National Guard has been asked to assist in efforts to combat the coronavirus outbreak at this time. In states where the National Guard has been called upon, members are doing work such as delivering food and supplies as well as assisting health care providers.