(Radio Iowa) — False rumors about busloads of rioters allegedly targeting small cities have spread on social media recently, including in Iowa. Multiple media outlets have debunked the online misinformation. Despite the lack of evidence for the threats, the posts prompted some Iowa businesses to board up their windows. In Council Bluffs, the city closed three interstate exits and armed civilians patrolled the county courthouse, waiting for rioters who never materialized. Matt Hildreth tracks such rumors nationwide with his group Rural Organizing-dot-org.

“There’s three people that are falling for it the most: business owners, civil, patrol groups or the militias, and police departments,” Hildreth says. “And that scares me. I don’t know how those groups are being so easily manipulated.” Burlington was also plagued with unfounded rumors of busloads of rioters heading to the city to wreak havoc. Mayor Jon Billups was skeptical of the claims, but he and some others drove around, just to check. The buses were not real, but he says for some, the fear was.

“If people had bad intentions for Burlington, they were able to achieve their goal by establishing chaos and some anarchy and some unrest, just by throwing rumors around,” Mayor Billups says. “If that’s the goal, they were able to achieve that by not coming here.” Facebook has taken down some accounts responsible for the claims, but the false rumors continue to circulate.

(By Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)