US officials struggle to quash Hurricane Helene conspiracy theories
By Stephanie Kelly
Oct 5 (Reuters) -In the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Helene in the United States this week, a new storm emerged on social media - false rumors about how disaster funds have been used, and even claims that officials control the weather.
Local and national government officials say they are trying to combat the rumors, including one spread by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
One of the more far-fetched rumors is that Helene was an engineered storm to allow corporations to mine regional lithium deposits. Others accuse the administration of President Joe Biden of using federal disaster funds to help migrants in the country illegally, or suggest officials are deliberately abandoning bodies in the cleanup.
Republican Congress member Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X Thursday night: "Yes they can control the weather. It's ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can't be done."
The conspiracy theories come at a pivotal time for rescue and recovery efforts following the storm, one of the deadliest U.S. hurricanes this century. And the presidential election between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is just over a month away.
Republicans and Democrats alike say the rumors are causing problems.
"I just talked to one Senator that has had 15 calls TODAY about why we don't stop ........ 'fill in the blank,'" said Kevin Corbin, a Republican in the North Carolina Senate - a state that is one of the hardest hit by Helene. "98% chance it's not true and if it is a problem, somebody is aware and on it," he wrote on Facebook.
"I'm growing a bit weary of intentional distractions," he added.
White House officials on Friday accused some Republican leaders and conservative media of intentionally peddling rumors to divide Americans in a way that could harm disaster relief efforts.
"Disinformation of this kind can discourage people from seeking critical assistance when they need it most," a White House memo said. "It is paramount that every leader, whatever their political beliefs, stops spreading this poison."
The memo highlighted a claim by Trump during a rally this week that Biden and Harris had used federal emergency funds "on people that should not be in our country."
"This is FALSE," the memo said. "No disaster relief funding at all was used to support migrants housing and services. None. At. All."
In response to a request for comment for this article, the Trump campaign repeated accusations that FEMA funds had been spent on housing migrants in the country illegally.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has the funds for immediate response and recovery efforts for Helene,the White House memo said, and has provided millions of dollars in relief to those recovering.
FEMA has been the target of so many falsehoods it has set up a rumor response page on its website to try to tamp them down.
Helene slammed into Florida a week ago and has killed over 200 people and devastated a half dozen states in the U.S. Southeast.
Some officials are trying to combat the disinformation themselves on social media. Katie Keaotamai, who works at FEMA but said she was speaking on social media in a personal capacity, explained FEMA's disaster response processes in several TikTok posts with thousands of views.
Disaster events are often politicized, said Kate Starbird, co-founder of the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington, adding that social media rewards "sensationalism and outrage with attention."
"Manipulating the sensemaking process (e.g. spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation) and politicizing the event will both make it harder to respond and recover now — and to make informed decisions about how to prepare for and mitigate the next one," Starbird said.
Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Heather Timmons and Rosalba O'Brien
Berita Terkini
Penafian: Entiti XM Group menyediakan perkhidmatan pelaksanaan sahaja dan akses ke Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian, yang membolehkan sesorang melihat dan/atau menggunakan kandungan yang ada di dalam atau melalui laman web, tidak bertujuan untuk mengubah atau memperluas, juga tidak mengubah atau mengembangkannya. Akses dan penggunaan tersebut tertakluk kepada: (i) Terma dan Syarat; (ii) Amaran Risiko; dan Penafian Penuh. Oleh itu, kandungan sedemikian disediakan tidak lebih dari sekadar maklumat umum. Terutamanya, perlu diketahui bahawa kandungan Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian bukan permintaan, atau tawaran untuk melakukan transaksi dalam pasaran kewangan. Berdagang dalam mana-mana pasaran kewangan melibatkan tahap risiko yang besar terhadap modal anda.
Semua bahan yang diterbitkan di Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian kami bertujuan hanya untuk tujuan pendidikan/maklumat dan tidak mengandungi – dan tidak boleh dianggap mengandungi nasihat kewangan, cukai pelaburan atau dagangan dan cadangan, atau rekod harga dagangan kami, atau tawaran, atau permintaan untuk suatu transaksi dalam sebarang instrumen kewangan atau promosi kewangan yang tidak diminta kepada anda.
Sebarang kandungan pihak ketiga serta kandungan yang disediakan oleh XM, seperti pendapat, berita, penyelidikan, analisis, harga, maklumat lain atau pautan ke laman web pihak ketiga yang terdapat dalam laman web ini disediakan berdasarkan "seadanya" sebagai ulasan pasaran umum dan bukanlah nasihat pelaburan. Sesuai dengan apa-apa kandungan yang ditafsir sebagai penyelidikan pelaburan, anda mestilah ambil perhatian dan menerima bahawa kandungan tersebut tidak bertujuan dan tidak sediakan berdasarkan keperluan undang-undang yang direka untuk mempromosikan penyelidikan pelaburan bebas dan oleh itu, ia dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah peraturan dan undang-undang yang berkaitan. SIla pastikan bahawa anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi mengenai Penyelidikan Pelaburan Bukan Bebas dan Amaran Risiko mengenai maklumat di atas yang boleh diakses di sini.
