New Jersey, other states, work to fight virus misinformation

New Jersey's top homeland security official received nearly nonstop calls in early March from grocery chains, trucking companies and other logistics firms wanting to know if rumours of an impending national lockdown were true.

They weren't, and Jared Maples soon learned the companies were reacting to misinformation stemming from text messages shared widely across the country.

Federal officials debunked the messages, but Maples said the whole episode was a whoa moment for him and other state officials. Weeks later, New Jersey launched a website aimed at debunking misinformation and rumours about COVID-19.

Misinformation is out there. You can't take everything at face value, Maples, director of the state's homeland security and preparedness office, told The Associated Press in an interview. If you hear a rumour, we want people to realize that there's a place to go (to check it out.)
"It's the sort of thing that breeds falsehoods...People's lives are being disrupted. You can create things that people want to believe...so there's a lot working towards a market for (misinformation)."