As emergency crews work to help people experiencing grave losses after Hurricane Helene, a wave of misinformation has accompanied relief efforts, heightened by an existential election just a month away.
The upcoming election has ramped up the misinformation, a common thread of which happens after most big news events. These claims have found believers – or at least opportunistic fans – among top Republicans, who are now tying an unprecedented disaster to issues like immigration.
“There’s no question that this level of falsehoods would not be spread were there not an election a month away,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council.
The falsehoods started quickly and came from the top. Donald Trump, freshly landed in Georgia on Monday to see the storm’s devastation, claimedthat the state’s governor, Brian Kemp, had not been able to reach Joe Biden to talk about disaster aid. Kemp had already said earlier in the day that he’d spoken to the president, who offered any help the state needed and said to call him directly.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) put up a webpage this week to knock down the swirl of rumors it has faced – a sign of the increased myths. The American Red Cross posted on social media to dispel various falsehoods about its work. Members of Congress and state emergency management services have issued statements to insist they are working around the clock on disaster response. Elected officials who serve the area have asked constituents not to spread rumors and instead help each other.
Kevin Corbin, a Republican state senator from North Carolina, posted on Facebook a plea to his followers: “Friends can I ask a small favor? Will you all help STOP this conspiracy theory junk that is floating all over Facebook and the internet about the floods.”
The claims that the government is controlling the weather, that the government has denied orders for more body bags – it was all “junk”, he said, and local lawmakers are being inundated with questions about these conspiracies. “It is just a distraction to people trying to do their job. Folks, this is a catastrophic event of which this country has never known.”
On Fema’s rumors page, the agency notes that it isn’t confiscating property or donations, asking for cash donations or capping recovery funds at $750 per person – all claims that are floating around online and, in some cases, elevated by rightwing media and Republican politicians.
“There are many dangerous, misleading rumors spreading about Helene response, which can actively prevent survivors from getting help,” a Fema spokesperson, Jaclyn Rothenberg, said. “Our top priority is ensuring that disaster assistance is reaching people in need.”
Glenn Jacobs, the Republican mayor of Knox county, Tennessee, said that to his knowledge, no one had been confiscating supplies. “Please quit spreading those rumors as they are counterproductive to response efforts,” he said. “If everyone could maybe please put aside the hate for a bit and pitch in to help, that would be great.”
Elon Musk, the owner of X and key Trump ally, claimed Fema was blocking flights trying to aid the area, calling it “belligerent government incompetence”. The transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, responded: “No one is shutting down the airspace and FAA doesn’t block legitimate rescue and recovery flights. If you’re encountering a problem give me a call.”
An AI-generated image of a young girl holding a puppy, looking devastated as she sat in a boat in the rain, seemingly fleeing the flood waters, spread widely. It was rightly flagged as AI-generated, but some didn’t seem to care.