There is no doubt that COVID-19 has added additional fuel to the fire of harmful disinformation and misinformation campaigns spread on “alternative fact” blogs and popular social-media sites. The anti-mask movement now is trying to prop up its dangerous agenda with the phony and false claim, that wearing a mask increases the risk of kidnapping and child sex trafficking — an assertion that is equal parts absurd and harmful.
Let me be clear: There is zero credible information to suggest that children wearing face masks to combat the spread of COVID-19 increases their risk of being kidnapped or trafficked. (And, while we’re at it, mask-wearing does not dangerously decrease oxygen levels or cause children to get pinworm, as many of these same sources want you to believe.)
Face masks are an important public health tool and, according to the CDC, should be worn by children ages 2 and older in public settings when social distancing is not possible, unless otherwise advised by a doctor.
