Lewis County official sets record straight after fake news circulates online

LOWVILLE, New York (WWNY) - Everyone knows misinformation can spread like wildfire across the internet and social media. Now, one fake news story has a Lewis County official setting the record straight.

Many will tell you to not believe everything you read online. On Wednesday in Lowville, we put that to the test.

Nakita Bedore is reading a falsified story that has been floating around the internet. It looks a lot like a real new story, but it claims that starting in January, the state will mandate anyone obtaining or renewing a driver’s license or vehicle registration be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Here’s Bedore’s reaction: “It is necessary because I know people that I was working with, they had family that said, oh, we don’t need this vaccine, and they ended up getting it.”

Walter West felt the same way.

“I kind of agree with her...because I am high risk,” he said.

But others didn’t.

“I thought it was supposed to be our choice whether we got the shot or not,” said Barb Turck.

All three had no idea the information was fake. Here’s what they said when we told them:

“It was convincing enough, yes. It said governor whatever in office telling us, you know,” said Bedore.

“If this is out there, people are going to believe it,” said West.

“It’s trying to get us against our government,” said Turck.

This misinformaton has been spreading online. Many people have called the Lewis County Department of Motor Vehicles to ask if it’s true.

County Clerk Jake Moser says it’s not just them; clerks across the state say their DMVs have been fielding the same calls

Moser wanted to set the record straight that you don’t need to be vaccinated to renew your license or vehicle registration at the DMV.

“Unfortunately, there’s people out there that is trying to take advantage of the situation and the environment we’re in where there seems to be a very strong blend of real information and misinformation,” he said.

Moser says if people have questions about policies in local government, they should feel free to call local officials where they will be sure to get correct information.

Copyright 2021 WWNY. All rights reserved.