False coronavirus rumors surge in ‘hidden viral’ text messages.
While the federal government does have the power to take some actions for public health reasons, such as testing people entering the country, decisions about enacting quarantines and other local restrictions fall to state governments.
The spread of the texts comes as health professionals have warned of an "infodemic" around the coronavirus, and a poll by the Knight Foundation, a nonprofit journalism organization, found 74 percent of Americans are worried about coronavirus misinformation. Pasquetto said the way rumors travel in the U.S. is different than other nations where the messaging app WhatsApp is more prevalent, in part because American text message groups tend to be smaller in size.
"It's all about emotion," Wardle said. "When it's 'my friend who works at the Department of Defense, who said there was a secret meeting,' it's the most powerful form of disinfo. Even journalists can't tell you if a secret meeting didn't happen."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
White House Debunks Text Rumors About a National Quarantine Amid Coronavirus PandemicTheir message comes after the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention made an unprecedented recommendation, advising canceling or postponing in-person events with more than 50 people for 8 weeks throughout the United States
Read more »
Grocery Stores Start To Cut Hours As Coronavirus Prompts Surge In Panic-BuyingChains from Walmart and Target to Whole Foods and Publix are cutting back hours to give employees more time to restock shelves and sanitize stores.
Read more »
Italy's coronavirus toll surges as worries grow over hospitalsItaly recorded 368 more deaths from the coronavirus outbreak on Sunday, its bigg...
Read more »
Fact check: Trump falsely claims US has 'tremendous control' of the coronavirusFact check: President Trump made yet another false claim to minimize the severity of the coronavirus crisis, claiming Sunday that the virus is under 'control.' Experts say the US does not have the virus even close to contained.
Read more »
Woman's Viral Tweet Stresses Kindness During Coronavirus PandemicWoman’s Viral Tweet Stresses Kindness During Coronavirus Pandemic
Read more »