That text from the government about a coronavirus quarantine is fake

At this point, there is an onslaught of disinformation spreading around about the COVID-19 pandemic. One recent bit of fakery is a text message that suggests the United States government will soon issue a mandatory coronavirus quarantine. You may have received the text or know someone who received it and shared it with you.

According to the White House National Security Council (WHNSC), this text message is a fake (via Android Central). It does not deliver official information from the government and neither the President nor the WHNSC has plans to issue a mandatory coronavirus quarantine.

Here is the tweet explaining the situation:

The WHNSC tweet makes it clear that the best way to find official and factual information about the coronavirus is to visit the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website or follow that organization’s Twitter account.

Now, more than ever, it’s very important to fact-check pretty much anything you come across online related to COVID-19 or a coronavirus quarantine. There are already reports of malware, pseudo-scientific “cures” and “vaccines,” and other general disinformation spreading around the internet. In general, approach anything you find that isn’t directly from a trusted source as suspect.

If nothing else, if you see this coronavirus quarantine text somewhere, do not share it. Just delete it to help stop it from spreading around.