Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad WolfChad WolfSunday shows preview: State governors and top medical officials prepare for next week of COVID-19 response US announces travel restrictions with Mexico, citing coronavirus DHS chief calls coronavirus screening delays in Chicago 'unacceptable' MORE said Sunday that false reports that the U.S. is imposing a national quarantine because of the novel coronavirus are part of a "disinformation campaign" possibly stemming from Russia.
Speaking on Fox Business, Wolf acknowledged that he's been contacted several times about text messages circulating that say "we're going to have a national lockdown or a national quarantine."
"I would just say, that's absolutely false. It's not true," he said. "And it is part of a disinformation campaign."
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"What we know, whether it's Russia, or whether it's other cyber actors... [is] they like to sow discord on any controversial issue," he added. "So, it doesn't just have to be elections. It can be any issue. And we're seeing that now with the coronavirus."
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from The Hill.
Dozens of conspiracy theories about the coronavirus, its origins and ways to treat it have proliferated in recent months, causing what the World Health Organization has described as an "infodemic."
Text messages and emails including messages about an impending national shutdown began spreading around the country earlier this month, causing the White House's National Security Council to share a statement on Twitter calling them "absolutely false." The administration has contended that "those wanting to cause fear and confusion in our country" are behind the disinformation.
PSA: Text messages and emails about national quarantines are absolutely false and started by those wanting to cause fear and confusion in our country. Continue to listen to CDC, https://t.co/I9sVvyqGmm and your state/local officials for latest updates and definitive guidance.
— NSC (@WHNSC) March 20, 2020
Wolf urged Americans to be more careful with the information they're reading and sharing about the virus, noting that it should mainly come from federal and state officials.
Social media companies have said that they've seen no coordinated disinformation campaigns on their platforms targeting the coronavirus pandemic. Companies such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Reddit said last week they are working jointly to combat the spread of fraudulent claims about the virus.
2020-03-22 18:04:10Z
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/488894-dhs-chief-false-reports-of-national-shutdown-may-be-part-of-russian
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