As emergency services work to help those who have suffered significant losses in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen, relief efforts are accompanied by a wave of misinformation, exacerbated by the election just a month away. is increasing.
The upcoming election has led to an increase in misinformation, which is common after big news events. Believers, or at least opportunists, of these claims have emerged among Republican leaders who are now linking the unprecedented disaster to issues such as immigration.
“There is no question that if there had been no election a month later, this level of falsehood would not have been spread,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council.
The falsehoods began immediately and were from above. Donald Trump, who just arrived in Georgia on Monday to see the devastation of the storm, claims the state’s governor, Brian Kemp, was unable to contact Joe Biden to discuss disaster relief. did. Kemp said he had already spoken to the president earlier in the day, who told him he would provide any assistance the state needed and to call him directly.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) launched a webpage this week that debunks the swirl of rumors it has been facing, a sign of growing myths. The American Red Cross posted on social media to dispel various falsehoods about its operations. Lawmakers and the state Office of Emergency Management issued a statement claiming they were working around the clock to respond to the disaster. Elected officials serving the area asked voters not to spread rumors and instead help each other.
Republican state senator Kevin Corbin of North Carolina posted a plea to his followers on Facebook: Please help us stop this conspiracy theory junk floating around Facebook and the internet about the floods. ”
He said claims that the government controlled the weather or that it had refused to order more body bags were all “bullshit” and local MPs were being inundated with questions about these plots. said. “It’s just a distraction for people who are trying to do their jobs. Folks, this is the most devastating event this country has ever known.”
Fema’s Rumors page points out that Fema has not confiscated property or donations, asked for cash donations, or capped recovery funds at $750 per person. The claims are all floating around online, and in some cases are being promoted by right-wing media and Republicans. Politician.
“Many dangerous and misleading rumors are circulating about the response to Helen, and they can actively prevent survivors from getting help,” Fema spokeswoman Jaclyn Rotenberg said. . “Our top priority is to ensure that disaster relief reaches those who need it.”
Glenn Jacobs, the Republican mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, said that to his knowledge, no one had confiscated any supplies. “Please stop spreading these rumors as they are counterproductive to countermeasures,” he said. “It would be great if everyone could put aside their hatred for a moment and join us in support.”
Elon Musk, the owner of Company X and a key Trump ally, accused Fema of blocking planes trying to help the region and called it “belligerent government incompetence.” “No one is closing airspace and the FAA is not blocking legitimate rescue and recovery flights. If you have a problem, please call me,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. ”
An AI-generated image of a girl holding a puppy sitting on a boat in the rain, looking devastated and seemingly running away from floodwaters, has gone viral. It was correctly flagged as AI-generated, but some people didn’t seem to care.
“This photo is burned into my mind,” Amy Kremer, an RNC national committee member from Georgia, posted on X. She later added: It doesn’t matter,” he said, calling it a “symbol” of the reality people are facing.
One myth that has spread in recent days is that Fema is underfunded because it has funneled money to immigrants instead, a claim amplified by Mr. Trump and many of his allies. This article was featured on the cover of the New York Post.
Fema hasn’t run out of money yet. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said earlier this week that the Department of Homeland Security does not have enough funding for the remainder of the hurricane season as it faces an increase in extreme weather events due to the climate crisis. “There is,” he said. For Helen, there is a pressing need with the money we have. ”
But immigration’s claims have nothing to do with Fema’s budget issues. The Shelter Services Program, another fund administered by Fema at the direction of Congress, provides reimbursement to local governments dealing with increased costs associated with the influx of immigrants, Reichlin-Melnick said. Disaster response does not cost money. The fund was launched in 2019 during the Trump administration.
Reichlin-Melnick said this was a “totally false claim” that had spread in recent days “because we live in an age of conspiratorial thinking and for many on the right, immigrants are the enemy.” said.
“The response is taking time because of very real logistical challenges posed by the geography of the region and the severity of the damage,” he said. “And the federal government couldn’t fix things overnight either…and we’ve seen a lot of politicians get this wrong by essentially trying to link immigration to hurricanes. think.”
Beyond the falsehoods, which at least have some connection to reality, there are also suggestions that the hurricane was somehow planned or organized, perhaps in connection with the upcoming election. This far-right fringe idea remained largely in the dark corners of the conspiratorial internet until Friday.
Incumbent Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted Friday: It would be foolish for anyone to lie and say it is impossible. ” She did not specify who “they” referred to. She previously tweeted a map of hurricane-ravaged areas overlaid on an election map to show how those areas voted.
There are many practical issues for those affected by Helen, including voting, and it is certainly possible that a disaster this close to an election could impact turnout and turnout. Election officials on the ground are working to ensure people can vote even if they lose their ID or mailed ballot.
“We don’t have all the answers at this point,” Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, told the media this week. “But we are working diligently to figure them out.”
