Fact Check: 'Upwards Of 30 US States' Are NOT 'On Alert' -- They Activated National Guard To Support COVID Missions

Fact Check

  • by: Alexis Tereszcuk
Fact Check: 'Upwards Of 30 US States' Are NOT 'On Alert' -- They Activated National Guard To Support COVID Missions Not On Alert

Are upwards of 30 states on alert with their National Guard activated or commanders told to move to a prepared footing? No, this is missing context: "The National Guard is currently supporting COVID missions in 46 states and territories," a National Guard spokesman told Lead Stories. The National Guard is activated in those states but is not "on alert" for a military movement. The claim that the commanders have been told "to move to a prepared footing" is not a military term that the National Guard is aware of.

The claim appeared as a blog post published by conspiracy theorist Simon Parkes on January 9, 2022, titled "Upwards Of 30 US States On Alert..." (archived here), which opened:

Upwards of 30 US states have either activated their National Guard or told commanders to move to a prepared footing.

Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:

Upwards Of 30 US States On Alert...

Upwards of 30 US states have either activated their National Guard or told commanders to move to a prepared footing.

The blog post had an image of the U.S. Capitol building with a shadowed image of unidentifiable soldiers. There was only one sentence in the post.

The post seems to imply that there is a threat to the nation or an ominous military maneuver about to happen. However, the National Guard spokesperson told Lead Stories via email on January 10, 2022, that troops are activated to help support COVID-19 missions in 46 states and territories. As of that date, Alabama, the District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Nebraska and South Dakota do not have National Guard troops assisting with COVID relief.

In addition, the National Guard said five states have troops aiding with natural disaster response including California and Colorado for wildfire assistance, Kentucky due to recent tornadoes, Louisiana for help with Hurricane Ida relief and Virginia for the recent winter storm.

Want to inform others about the accuracy of this story?

See who is sharing it (it might even be your friends...) and leave the link in the comments.:


  Alexis Tereszcuk

Alexis Tereszcuk is a writer and fact checker at Lead Stories and an award-winning journalist who spent over a decade breaking hard news and celebrity scoop with RadarOnline and Us Weekly.

As the Entertainment Editor, she investigated Hollywood stories and conducted interviews with A-list celebrities and reality stars.  

Alexis’ crime reporting earned her spots as a contributor on the Nancy Grace show, CNN, Fox News and Entertainment Tonight, among others.

Read more about or contact Alexis Tereszcuk

About Us

International Fact-Checking Organization EFCSN Meta Third-Party Fact Checker

Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
Spotted something? Let us know!.

Lead Stories is a:


WhatsApp Tipline

Have a tip or a question? Chat with our friendly robots on WhatsApp!

Add our number +1 (404) 655-4223, follow this link or scan the image below with your phone:

@leadstories

Subscribe to our newsletter

* indicates required

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Lead Stories LLC:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Most Read

Most Recent

Share your opinion