- Officials are urging people to stop spreading misinformation amid Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.
- Both Republicans and Democrats have called out misinformation and false rumors.
- Donald Trump and Elon Musk have amplified false claims.
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As rescue workers respond to the destruction in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, government officials on both sides of the aisle are calling for a misinformation cease-fire.
Since the hurricane made landfall in Florida and swept up to the Carolinas, the storm itself has been swept up in another powerful force: American politics in a presidential election year.
Some social media users are sharing unsubstantiated claims, some accompanied by fake AI-generated photos, criticizing the response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the government’s disaster relief group, and, by extension, the administration of President Joe Biden.
“It’s not necessarily unusual for emergency situations to be breeding grounds for mis- and disinformation, but I do think we’ve seen a particularly large amount of false claims proliferating at this time,” Mekela Panditharatne, a senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit policy institute at New York University’s School of Law, told Business Insider. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it’s so close to a very consequential national election.”
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X and a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, has posted on his social media network saying that “FEMA is both failing to help AND won’t let others help” and has reposted similar claims from others.
Musk shared another claim that Asheville, North Carolina’s airspace had been closed to block recovery efforts, prompting a fact-check from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who said the Federal Aviation Administration was not shutting down the airspace. Buttigieg told Musk to call him with any issues, and after they spoke on the phone, Musk posted that flights were underway and thanked Buttigieg.
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Trump has seized on the disaster to criticize the Biden administration and, by extension, his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, saying the Biden administration “stole the FEMA money” and “spent it all on illegal migrants,” the Washington Post reported.
His comments came after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said FEMA would need more money from Congress to get it through the rest of hurricane season.
A Washington Post investigation found no evidence that the Biden administration used disaster relief funds on the migrant crisis. However, amid hurricane season in 2019, Trump himself approved using $155 million in disaster relief funds for immigration detention at the border, the Post reported.
Bipartisan calls to stop spreading ‘junk’ information
Following the spike in false rumors, FEMA created a searchable fact-checking page to tackle misinformation about the relief efforts. In North Carolina, the Department of Public Safety also shared a fact-check on social media, which Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has reposted.
Republicans have also joined the fight against the false information. Kevin Corbin, a Republican member of the North Carolina Senate, issued a plea on Facebook for people to stop spreading “conspiracy theory junk.” He listed bizarre claims that he said he and other officials have heard, ranging from accusations that “FEMA is stealing money from donations” to the “government is controlling the weather from Antarctica.”
“It is just a distraction to people trying to do their job,” Corbin wrote.
Misinformation hinders genuine recovery efforts, officials said.
US Sen. Thom Tillis, also a Republican, echoed Corbin’s comments on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on CBS News on Sunday. He said many of the claims are “not even from people on the ground” and complicate rescue and recovery operations.
“It’s at the expense of the hard-working first responders and people that are just trying to recover their life,” Tillis said. “Quite honestly, most of what I’ve seen out there is a distraction and not helping the core of the effort right here, which is to save lives and start rebuilding.”
Panditharatne told BI that the spread of misinformation can “dissuade people from seeking the assistance that they need in this time of crisis.”
“It’s perfectly legitimate to express an opinion or criticize the sufficiency of a response, but a number of the claims that we are seeing, particularly from high profile actors and politicians, are baseless, and they’re contradicting verifiable facts or unsubstantiated by evidence,” she said. “Where that is the case, I think it can divert public information and resources and demoralize officials on the ground.”
In a crisis, there may be gaps in available information, creating a vacuum for misinformation to “flood in to fill the void,” Panditharatne said. However, she added that’s not an excuse.
“I think anyone like Musk, who has a significant influence over the information ecosystem, should feel a sense of responsibility to promote information that doesn’t undermine people’s ability to access the aid that they need or undermine officials’ response to a crisis,” she said.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for X also did not immediately respond.
What steps are being taken by officials to combat the misinformation surrounding disaster recovery efforts?
Officials are grappling with a wave of misinformation that has emerged in the wake of recent disasters, including hurricanes. This misinformation not only obscures the truth but also hampers crucial recovery efforts. For instance, claims by figures like Elon Musk about blocked airspace for rescue operations have been countered by officials, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who clarified that the Federal Aviation Administration had not shut down airspace and invited Musk to discuss any issues directly.
In the political arena, former President Donald Trump has leveraged the situation to criticize the Biden administration, making unfounded accusations regarding the misuse of FEMA funds. He has asserted that financial resources intended for disaster relief were diverted to support immigrants, a claim that has been debunked by investigations showing no evidence for such actions. Notably, during Trump’s tenure, he himself approved the reallocation of disaster relief funds towards immigration enforcement.
In light of the surge in false information, agencies like FEMA have taken proactive steps to combat misinformation. They have created dedicated fact-checking resources and have partnered with state officials to correct the record. In North Carolina, for example, bipartisan efforts have found leaders from both parties denouncing the spread of conspiracy theories related to disaster relief.
Officials have emphasized the importance of accurate information in ensuring effective recovery efforts and assisting those affected by disasters. As misinformation continues to proliferate, the challenge remains to provide clear, factual guidance to the public while addressing the doubts and fears that often accompany large-scale emergencies.
Here is a PAA (People Also Ask) related question for the topic “Being taken to combat misinformation during disasters”:
Being taken to combat misinformation during disasters?
In the wake of increasing misinformation surrounding disaster relief efforts, various agencies and officials are implementing several strategies to address and combat false information: These collective efforts aim not only to inform the public but also to ensure that disaster response and recovery efforts are not impeded by misleading or false information, ultimately preserving the lives and safety of those affected by disasters.
