Get in line

Last week, we saw America in a food fight unlike any since the days of Animal House, but only in rare cases did it turn violent.

Americans were storming from store to store in search of food and non-food items such as meat and milk and toilet paper, disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer.  It was crazy, almost like people were calling for a hurricane or blizzard, with the likelihood of being stuck at home for hours on end.

What started it was the coronavirus commotion, and a rumor that spread like wildfire on social media.

I think we can agree that it was a problem for the people at the top of the federal government not to take the virus seriously at first. Claiming that we would be down to zero cases in a matter of days, or that the warm weather in April would chase the virus out of town, delayed preparations and led to confusion on the part of citizens.

But that happens a lot these days, mixed messages from 1600 Pennsylvania Av. 

Some misguided joker started a rumor that we all needed to "stock up” on two weeks of supplies; it went around the internet faster than lightning. The rumor falsely claimed that a “mandatory” nationwide quarantine would soon go into effect because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, the old expression is true: A lie can get around the world twice before the truth even gets its pants on.

Some versions had a text or instant message with a screenshot of a fake memo saying " within 48 to 72 Hours… The president will order a two week mandatory quarantine for the nation. Stock up on whatever you guys need to make sure you have a two week supply of everything. Please forward to your network.”

People who perpetrate this sort of fraud like to make it look all legitimate and everything, so various versions of the message attribute this falsehood to something apparently real: “military friends,” the “DC mayor,” and “a physician at the Clev. Clinic.”

The  National Security Council shot down the rumor with a tweet: "Text message rumors of a national #quarantine are FAKE. There is no national lockdown.”

As usual, it didn't take long to read far enough to see a syntax error that indicates the person who came up with this legerdemain is not exactly an official official. Some versions of the fake mention the Stafford Act, a federal disaster relief law.  But instead of saying that the president would invoke the Stafford Act, the phony message said “within 48 to 72 Hours the president will evoke what is called the Stafford act.”

That sort of thing always evokes laughter from me. Stay healthy!