By Stephanie Kelly
(Reuters) – In the wake of Hurricane Helene’s devastation in the United States this week, a new storm has 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 rumors, including one spread by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
One of the wildest rumors is that Helene was a storm designed to allow corporations to exploit regional lithium deposits. Others accuse President Joe Biden’s administration of using federal disaster funds to help immigrants in the country illegally, or suggest officials are deliberately abandoning bodies during the cleanup.
Republican Congresswoman 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 crucial time for rescue and recovery efforts following the storm, one of the deadliest hurricanes of this century in the United States. And there is just over a month until the presidential election between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Both Republicans and Democrats say the rumors are causing problems.
“I just spoke to a senator who has received 15 calls TODAY about why we don’t stop… ‘filling in the blank,'” said Kevin Corbin, a Senate Republican from North Carolina, a state that is one of those most affected by Helene. “There’s a 98% chance it’s not true and if it’s a problem, someone knows and knows,” he wrote on Facebook (NASDAQ:).
“I’m getting a little tired of intentional distractions,” he added.
White House officials on Friday accused some Republican leaders and conservative media outlets of intentionally spreading rumors to divide Americans in a way that could harm disaster relief efforts.
“Misinformation of this type can deter people from seeking critical assistance when they need it most,” a White House memo said. “It is paramount that all leaders, whatever their political beliefs, stop spreading this poison.”
The memo highlighted a claim by Trump during a rally this week that Biden and Harris had used emergency federal funds “on people who should not be in our country.”
“This is FALSE,” the memo said. “No disaster relief funding was used to support immigrant 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 housing illegal immigrants in the country.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has the funding for Helene’s immediate response and recovery efforts, according to the White House memo, and has provided millions of dollars in aid to those recovering.
FEMA has been the target of so many falsehoods that it has created a rumor response page on its website to try to silence them.
Helene struck Florida a week ago, killing more than 200 people and devastating a half-dozen states in the southeastern United States.
Some officials are trying to combat misinformation on social media themselves. Katie Keaotamai, who works at FEMA but said she was speaking on social media in her personal capacity, explained FEMA’s disaster response processes in several TikTok posts with thousands of views.
Disasters 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 sense-making process (for example, spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation) and politicizing the event will make it harder to respond and recover now, and make informed decisions about how to prepare for and mitigate the next one,” Starbird said.