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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 21, 2023 in a video shared on Facebook: “We have over a million people right now that are under emergency travel restrictions … and this is due to poison being released into the air.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * Climate Change * Facebook Fact-checks * Facebook posts ![\\"Madison](\\" By Madison Czopek August 31, 2023 # Millions weren’t ‘under emergency travel restrictions’ on air quality alert days #### If Your Time is short * After air quality alerts were issued Aug. 20 and Aug. 21 for parts of Indiana and Ohio, news reports included guidelines that encouraged people to avoid driving if possible. Those guidelines were just suggestions; they were not mandatory and did not restrict anyone’s travel. See the sources for this fact-check A video widely shared on Facebook warned about a widespread ban on domestic travel. \"Something big is happening right now,\" said the man in the video posted Aug. 21 on Facebook. \"We have over a million people right now that are under emergency travel restrictions — emergency travel restrictions, and this is due to poison being released into the air. This is what the federal government is warning right now.\" This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.) Patrick Humphrey made the video, first posted Aug. 20 on YouTube. The content is emblematic of a larger theme on Humphrey’s YouTube channel: He regularly posts videos about alleged emergencies and encourages people to prepare for them. But his claims do not hold up under scrutiny. Humphrey has 91,000 subscribers, and his videos typically receive thousands of views. He has made other similar claims that PolitiFact has debunked, including one about \"massive explosions\" and another about an official statement from the White House regarding critical infrastructure. ![](\\" (Screenshot from YouTube.) In the Aug. 20 video, Humphrey said officials issued warnings encouraging people not to get fuel, to stay inside and avoid travel. The video’s title claimed 1.2 million people in multiple states were told not to travel because poison was \"released in air.\" #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 13, 2024 in an Instagram post Videos of media talking about Tim Walz as a \"happy warrior\" are proof of government propaganda legalized by Barack Obama. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • August 15, 2024 About two minutes into the video, Humphrey said, \"I’ll tell you what they’re saying it is, but I don’t know if that’s all it is, because I am not feeling good.\" After three and a half minutes, he mentioned \"air action warnings.\" Nearly four minutes passed before he provided bits of specific information by reading from two articles: * An Aug. 18 Yahoo News article about an Aug. 20 ozone air quality alert in southwest Ohio. It provided tips for reducing air pollution, such as \"avoid driving if possible\" and \"mow your lawn in the evening.\" * What appeared to be an Aug. 20 article in the Evansville, Indiana, Courier & Press newspaper about the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s declaration that Aug. 21 would be an air quality alert day in southwestern Indiana because of high ozone levels. The article encouraged people to \"drive less\" and \"avoid refueling your vehicle.\" Humphrey also mentioned that part of Colorado was under an air quality alert Aug. 20, but he did not show news reports of specific guidelines issued for that area. Neither article mentions a travel ban or says people would be prohibited from moving freely in Ohio or Indiana. We found no other evidence such as news articles or government press releases about travel restrictions in those states. The recommendations to \"avoid driving\" or \"drive less\" were the only apparent connections to what Humphrey called \"travel restrictions.\" Humphrey even acknowledged the guidelines were nonbinding. \"It’s not ‘mandatory’ right now, it’s ‘voluntary’ right now,\" he said, putting air quotes around the words. We rate the claim that \"over a million people right now that are under emergency travel restrictions\" because of \"poison being released into the air\" False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Patrick Humphrey’s YouTube channel, Warning ⚠️ Poison Released In Air - \"Do Not Travel\" For 1.2 Million - Multiple States, Aug. 20, 2023 Courier & Press, IDEM: Air Quality Alert Day declared for Monday, Aug. 20, 2023 Indiana Department of Environmental Management, IDEM issues Air Quality Action Day for Monday in three Indiana regions, Aug. 20, 2023 Yahoo!News, Forecast for temperatures in the 80s prompts issuing of ozone Air Quality Alert for Sunday, Aug. 18, 2023 PolitiFact, No, ‘two massive explosions’ haven’t taken out US critical infrastructure, Aug. 7, 2023 PolitiFact, The White House did not issue ‘official’ warning about imminent attack to critical infrastructure, Aug. 2, 2023 PolitiFact, ‘Unhealthy’ air quality affected 127 million in June, not August, Aug. 8, 2023 PolitiFact, US did not issue a ‘food shortage emergency’ declaration, Aug. 16, 2023 Fox59, It’s Hot! Air Quality Action Day issued for Central Indiana, Aug. 20, 2023 CBS News Colorado, Fire danger, haze and record heat ramping up for Colorado, Aug. 20, 2023 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Madison Czopek ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on September 3, 2024 in a video posted on X: On June 7, 2011, Kamala Harris was involved in a San Francisco hit-and-run crash that injured a woman named Alicia Brown. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • September 5, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 29, 2024 in a post on Instagram: “BREAKING: Illegal Aliens in San Diego, California, tried to hijack 2 school buses filled with children.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 25, 2024 in a Facebook post: “There’s no such thing as menopause.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 30, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 24, 2024 in an Instagram post: World Economic Forum “document confirms 6 billion humans will die in 2025.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bob Casey stated on August 22, 2024 in a speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention: “Prices are up because these corporations are scheming to drive them up.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 28, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 16, 2024 in a post on X: “Kamala Harris wants to give $25,000 to illegal aliens to buy American homes.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • August 22, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 4, 2024 in an Instagram post: “The NFL will now use facial recognition at every stadium to verify the identity of everyone at the game.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • August 16, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 12, 2024 in a post on Facebook: Dr. Leo Ferreira, a cancer researcher shown in a video clip, was on the plane that crashed in Brazil on Aug. 9. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • August 15, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jesse Watters stated on August 6, 2024 in a segment on \"Jesse Watters Primetime\": Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “forced schools to stock tampons in boys’ bathrooms.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 13, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 11, 2024 in a post on Truth Social: Photo of Kamala Harris’ Aug. 7 rally near Detroit was AI-generated and “there was nobody there.” Attendees pictured “didn’t exist.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • August 12, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 27, 2024 in a post on X: Video shows that “JD Vance endorses Project 2025.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 31, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on July 22, 2024 in a post on X: The death of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, six days after the Trump rally shooting was linked to her “oversight of the Secret Service.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 24, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 21, 2024 in a post on Instagram: “The state of Washington has already sent out their ballots” for the 2024 presidential election. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 23, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 14, 2024 in an Instagram post: A Secret Service agent named Jonathan Willis said he “had the assassin in his sights for 3 minutes, but he was told not to engage by the head of the (Secret Service) unit.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • July 15, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Joe Biden stated on July 9, 2024 in a speech in Washington D.C.: In 2020, “only nine NATO allies were spending 2%” of their GDP on defense. “This year, 23 will spend at least 2%.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • July 12, 2024 ### Millions weren’t ‘under emergency travel restrictions’ on air quality alert days * ![](\\" ![](\\" Jon Tester stated on September 8, 2024 in a Facebook ad: Tim Sheehy “would let politicians like him ban abortion, with no exceptions for rape or to save a woman’s life, and criminalize women.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 8, 2024 in a Threads post: “Elon Musk is going to expose Bill Gates soon, says ‘he’s evil.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 6, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Gordon Ramsay calls Tim Walz a ‘woke creep,’ throws him out of Hell’s Kitchen.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: \"ÚLTIMA HORA Río Nilo se pinta de rojo sangre\". ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Marta Campabadal Graus • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 7, 2024 in a Threads post: Photo shows Elton John wearing a “MAGA” jacket. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a photo: The Minnesota Vikings have denounced Tim Walz: “We don’t suppᴏrt his values.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 8, 2024 in Instagram posts: Immigrants get $2,000 each time they cross the border illegally. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on August 30, 2024 in a Facebook post: Video shows tornadoes in Canada. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 8, 2024 in an Instagram post: Video shows a Ku Klux Klan member at a rally for former President Donald Trump. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 7, 2024 in a Threads post: Elon Musk said, “Anyone caught promoting propaganda will be suspended from X.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. 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We have over a million people right now that are under emergency travel restrictions and this is due to poison being released into the air