A rumor is being circulated on social media that falsely claims the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has plans to mobilize the National Guard to enforce a national quarantine. The Kansas Adjutant General’s office is asking the public to help dispel the rumor.
According to a press release from the Kansas Adjutant General’s office issued Friday, individuals are receiving a letter (pictured), that falsely claims the following:
- The DHS is preparing to dispatch the National Guard along with military and first responders.
- The DHS and the president will be announcing – by the end of the weekend - a nationwide two-week quarantine for all citizens and that all businesses will be closed, and that the announcement will be made as soon as they have troops in place to prevent looters and rioters.
- People should stock up on whatever they need to ensure they have a two-week supply of everything.
All of the above claims are false, according to the Kansas Adjutant General, which says the DHS does not have the authority to mobilize the National Guard as described in the letter and states there is no discussion of a nationwide quarantine.
The adjutant general’s office is asking people to help stop the rumor, by sharing posts from the Kansas National Guard at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KansasNationalGuard/, Twitter www.Twitter.com/KansasGuard, Instagram www.Instagram.com/KansasGuard and on the Kansas Emergency Management’s Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KansasEmergency/ and Twitter www.Twitter.com/KansasEmergency that are aimed at stopping the rumor.
Hashtags for social media posts people can add are #KSRumorWatch, #SpreadFactsNotFear and #StoptheRumors.
The adjutant general’s office says people may see National Guard men and women in their communities, as several in Kansas have been activated to support the COVID-19 response by conducting warehouse operations, commodity distribution, access control, mailroom support and manning the Kansas Emergency Operations Center.
