Countries around the world ordered lockdowns throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to contain the rapid spread of the disease.
Now, some claim a city in the United Kingdom is working to impose new "climate lockdowns" on residents.
"Oxfordshire Council to Trial a Climate Lockdown Starting 2024," reads the headline of a Dec. 4 story published by the website Watts Up With That.
"Oxfordshire County Council yesterday approved plans to lock residents into one of six zones to ‘save the planet’ from global warming. The latest stage in the ’15 minute city’ agenda is to place electronic gates on key roads in and out of the city, confining residents to their own neighborhoods," reads part of the article.
The story was shared more than 3,000 times on Facebook, according to the social media analytics tool CrowdTangle. Other versions of the claim have spread widely on Facebook and Instagram.
But the claim is false.
The article misconstrues the facts around a new traffic reduction plan approved by the Oxford County Council in Oxfordshire, U.K., in November. The new traffic reduction system will restrict drivers from accessing certain main roads during daytime hours through the use of "traffic filters."
The city will utilize traffic cameras to track and fine drivers who drive in certain areas at certain times, but no physical barriers will be added to roads. Residents will be free to move...
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