Coronavirus: US officials claim foreign entity behind disinformation campaign

Government agencies coordinated to dispel rumours national quarantine was going be announced

US officials have claimed that a foreign disinformation campaign is being undertaken to spread fear, according to a report.

The three officials believe a deliberate effort is underway by a foreign entity to create fear in US citizens around coronavirus.

On Sunday, news started to spread that there would be a national quarantine, something that government agencies took coordinated action to dispel.

The officials spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity and did not name what foreign entity they thought was behind the misinformation.

Last week, the Pentagon accused the Chinese government of spreading “false & absurd conspiracy theories about the origin of COVID-19 blaming U.S. service members”.

The national security council tweeted on Sunday in an attempt to dispel the rumours of a national lockdown.

“Text message rumours of a national #quarantine are FAKE. There is no national lockdown. @CDCgov has and will continue to post the latest guidance on #COVID19,” it tweeted.

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During a press call on Monday, Donald Trump said that there might be a foreign entity “playing games”.

This is not the first time that the US government has claimed foreign interference.

Officials have previously warned of Russian social media activity and there were widespread reports of interference in the 2016 election.

In the US 3,485 cases of the disease and 65 deaths have been recorded so far.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended a two-week ban on gatherings of more than 50 people as part of the battle to contain the spread of the contagion.

Additional reporting by Associated Press