State officials in the U.S. have begun making preparations for the total eclipse, with National Guardsmen already confirmed for deployment in Oklahoma, where hundreds of thousands of tourists are expected to visit on April 8.
The guard will provide first responders as well as units with hazmat response capabilities in case of an incident like an industrial fire.
A TikTok that went viral this week suggested that other states were planning to draft in National Guardsmen, as well.
The Claim
A post on TikTok by user @supreme_innergee, posted on March 18, 2024, viewed more than 900,000 times, included a news report about the National Guard being deployed to assist with visitors arriving in Oregon for a solar eclipse.
Text on top of the video said: "National Guards DEPLOYED!! Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024."
The Facts
Some who watched the TikTok seemed to be convinced the report was related to this year's eclipse. A response by user NevaSeeMeComN, liked more than 2,300 times, said "something big is being planned, I believe it'll be the black swan event they've been talking about."
However, the video shared on TikTok has nothing to do with the upcoming solar eclipse. It was taken from a news report broadcast in July 2017 that can be watched on YouTube.
The report can be dated from its quoting of "Governor Kate Brown," who served as Oregon governor from 2015 to 2023, replaced by Tina Kotek.
Oregon was in the 2017 "path of totality," where viewers could see the moon completely block the sun.
According to a report by Oregon Public Broadcasting, the National Guard deployed about 150 soldiers and airmen during the eclipse weekend of August 21, 2017.
However, Oregon is not in the "path of totality" this year. The path in 2024 will start in Mexico and extend across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine before heading over the North Atlantic.
Chris Crabb, public affairs officer at the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, told Newsweek that no National Guardsmen will be deployed.
"The state is not deploying the National Guard for the 2024 eclipse," Crabb said. "Oregon is not anywhere near the path of totality and doesn't anticipate huge crowds like we saw in 2017."
Interest surrounding the solar eclipse has led to a stream of misleading and false content about the event spreading online.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones claimed that the federal government was planning to "hijack" the event, while others falsely suggested it could lead to earthquakes and major thunderstorms.
The Ruling
False.
The video shared on TikTok is a 2017 news report about Oregon's preparations for a total solar eclipse. It has nothing to do with this year's eclipse.
In 2017, Oregon was in the "path of totality," where viewers could see the moon fully block the sun. It is not in the path this year. An Oregon official confirmed to Newsweek that no guardsmen will be deployed in the state for this year's eclipse.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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