Social media feeds and word-of-mouth have spread lots of rumors related to the coronavirus in recent weeks. In many cases, they simply aren’t true.
For example, the National Guard is not going to take over Baltimore and declare martial law.
And Maryland State Police won’t pull you over just to see if what you’re doing is really “essential.”
Those are just some of the rumors the state is now trying to address head-on with its Coronavirus Rumor Control website that’s gone online.
By now, many of the rumors you’ve heard have made their way to state leaders, who in some cases are asked to address the veracity of them.
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The rumors have to do with everything from the virus itself, and how you might get it, to what the governor’s stay-at-home order actually means.
The website lays out each rumor, and then lists the actual facts surrounding it, citing sources for where the information came from and when that information was provided.
For instance, the rumor about the national guard in Baltimore was shot down by Maryland National Guard Major General Tim Gowen back on March 26.
On the right hand side of the page is a row of links that are considered trusted sites for information related to the virus. There’s also a button that allows you to submit a rumor you’ve heard that hasn’t been addressed yet, so the state can look into it and provide you with an answer.
“As part of the State Response to COVID-19, MEMA (Maryland Emergency Management Agency) stood up its Joint Information Center to provide the right information to the right people at the right time so they can be empowered to make the right decisions,” said Jorge E. Castillo, a spokesman for MEMA.
“We have been dispelling rumors and providing factual information since then, and we want Maryland residents to be able to participate in the process by helping us identify rumors and false information that could unnecessarily cause panic or worse, result in decision making that could lead to severe injuries or even death.”
Readers can also subscribe to the site so that when new rumors are addressed, they’re able to find out the truth about something, no matter how crazy it sounds.
One final example: The state board of education has not decided everyone in the public school system will have to repeat the same grade next school year.
But considering that started spreading on April Fools’ Day, most of you probably caught on.
