“Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, an agency within HHS, told the Senate committee on Tuesday that masks are usually recommended for those who are infected and health-care workers, but not for the general population. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently does not recommend the use of face masks by the general public to prevent COVID-19.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/03/us-c...cial-says.html

I wouldn’t call that “spreading lies”. There aren’t enough masks to put one on everyone even if some people didn’t have boxes of fifty at home.

People were buying (hoarding) masks because they want to wear them to protect themselves. I don’t think many people went to the drug store with the thought that they should wear them in case they are infected and that a mask would protect strangers from catching the infection from them. I don’t think the CDC is lying when they say that self-protection approach isn’t going to work for the average person.

Even if we had enough masks stockpiled for the government to give every person one, I am not sure what percentage of Americans would actually wear them unless it came with a mandate to wear them in public 100% of the time (and enforcement measures).

https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/less...-bad-and-ugly/

“Koreans, quite fortunately, tend to be very socially conscious, willing to go out their way to reduce risks for others. From the perspective of virus containment, this is an incredible gift. In fact, most Koreans will readily admit they wear masks, not only to protect themselves, but also to help protect others. Get caught in the streets these days without one and you will most certainly be greeted with reproach. It is the potential absence of this cooperative culture that will likely be the first hurdle for many other countries when implementing their own containment efforts.”