The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is battling various rumors about the ongoing U.S. response to the coronavirus outbreak and has started a web page to debunk these falsehoods. The page on its website is called Coronavirus Rumor Control.

The launch of the page comes as coronavirus cases continue to surge amid concerns that many Americans are not taking necessary health precautions.

Chad Wolf, the acting Secretary of Homeland Security, has urged Americans to follow trusted sources. "Do not believe the disinformation campaigns. Please do not pass it along. Use trusted local and federal government sources," Wolf posted Friday on Twitter.

One rumor that has frequently circulated on social media is that there will be a nationwide two-week quarantine to fight the outbreak. “There is no national lockdown. As with all information online or shared via social media, it is important to verify the source of the information,” the FEMA site says in response to the “fake news.”

Another rumor is that FEMA has deployed military assets to combat the outbreak.

“No, FEMA does not have military assets. Like all emergencies, response is most successful when it is locally executed, state managed and federally supported,” the page says. “Each state’s governor is responsible for response activities in their state, to include establishing curfews, deploying the National Guard if needed and any other restrictions or safety measures they deem necessary for the health and welfare of their citizens.”

Misinformation has spread across social media about the nature of the coronavirus. One frequent rumor claims that by gargling salt water or vinegar, individuals can reduce their chance of contracting the disease, an ineffective method of prevention. Other posts claim that the virus dies at certain temperatures, an unproven claim.

Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms have done more to delete these fake posts and promote the facts on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"It seems like the [social media] platforms have decided to take a clear stand, where they see COVID-19 as a significant enough public health problem that they're comfortable putting their thumb on the scale even if it runs the risk of some of their users claiming it's an unfair restriction on free speech,” Ethan Zuckerman, the director of the Center for Civic Media at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told NBC News.

As of Wednesday at 5:25 p.m. ET, there are more than 460,250 total confirmed coronavirus cases around the world, with the death toll at 20,857.

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