A fake 'agency' behind an anti-mask confrontation in a grocery store was also part of a virus misinformation campaign on Facebook
- A video of a woman in a California supermarket claiming to be from the "Freedom to Breathe Agency" was widely shared over the weekend.
- It shows her telling a store employee that she is breaking the law by trying to enforce mask-wearing in store.
- In fact, wearing a mask in stores is compulsory under California public health rules.
- The Freedom to Breathe Agency is not a government agency, and has been warned by the real US government after distributing fake exemption cards marked with the Department of Justice seal.
- An associated Facebook page — Unmasking America — was also shut down after spreading coronavirus-related misinformation.
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A video being widely shared on social media has renewed attention on a group that falsely presents itself as a government agency fighting against compulsory mask-wearing.
In the video filmed in a California grocery store a woman says she is from the "Freedom to Breathe Agency."
She tells a store worker that she could be sued for enforcing mask rules. She also handed her papers, which, according to BuzzFeed News, claimed that she could be sent to prison.
The group has no affiliation with any state or federal authority, and has been warned by the Department of Justice to stop mis-using its seal.
It has also been censured as part of a Facebook crackdown on coronavirus misinformation, linked to fake cards marked "FACE MASK EXEMPT" and said to be issued by the agency.
In July the Department of Justice (DoJ) denied any affiliation with the group after imagery emerged of the cards, which feature the department's seal.
"These postings were not issued by the Department and are not endorsed by the Department," said the DoJ in a statement to NPR.
The cards threatened business owners requiring patrons to wear masks with a referral to the DoJ, and potential fines of $150,000.
Pictures of the exemption cards were being linked to widely in a Facebook group called Unmasking America, reported The Verge in July.
The page was subsequently banned from the site for spreading coronavirus misinformation.
One poster in the group reportedly advised others to "print it, laminate it and use it. The number is legit."
The group's Facebook page is currently unavailable, with a message from Facebook suggesting possible reasons, including that it had been deleted.
The group's founder was identified by The New York Times as Lenka Koloma.
The outlet reported that she was selling the cards on a page on the Shopify platform. She describes herself on her webpage as an "entrepreneur, motivational speaker, transformation expert and researcher in the field of biology, nutritional science, science of life, neuroscience and quantum physics."
She is also, according to BuzzFeed News, the woman in the video confronting the grocery store worker.
She claims wearing a mask is part of "subliminal mind conditioning," and her website contains a print-out of grounds for refusing to obey mask-wearing rules.
Koloma did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Facebook also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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