Staying true to its motto of “Leading the way with important local coverage of stuff we saw on Facebook,” WISN 12 assured viewers yesterday that a series of social media posts claiming Ebola had broken out in Wisconsin were a hoax. The posts—one of which involved a UW-Milwaukee student who had supposedly tested positive for Ebola—were the work of prank website Feednewz.com, which allows users to create fake, Facebook-friendly stories and headlines. “All stories are false,” declared WISN. “There are no reported cases of Ebola, nor reports of symptoms of Ebola, in Wisconsin at this time.”
Phew. It’s good to know that these Wisconsin Ebola scare-stories are from a malicious joke website, and not legitimate local media sources. Anyway, here’s a list of Wisconsin Ebola scare-stories from legitimate local media sources:
Milwaukee Business Journal: “What should an employer do if an employee may have been exposed to Ebola?”
WUWM: “Milwaukee Medical Director Answers Questions about Ebola”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “A big step in fighting Ebola virus in the Milwaukee area”
WISN 12: “Milwaukee hospital shows WISN 12 News how it’s preparing for Ebola”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Scott Walker joins call for commercial travel ban in response to Ebola”
TMJ 4: “UWM notifies students of CDC travel warning over Ebola concerns”
Milwaukee Business Journal: “Milwaukee Health Department issues Ebola suggestions for business travel”
Fox 6: “‘Stay aware of the situation:’ Milwaukee-area hospital, jail officials following Ebola protocol”