After the deluge, the lies: Misinformation and hoaxes about Helene cloud
the recovery
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[October 07, 2024]
By DAVID KLEPPER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The facts emerging from Hurricane Helene's destruction
are heartrending: Businesses and homes destroyed, whole communities
nearly wiped out, hundreds of lives lost, hundreds of people missing.
Yet this devastation and despair is not enough for the extremist groups,
disinformation agents, hucksters and politicians who are exploiting the
disaster to spread false claims and conspiracy theories about it and the
government's response.
According to former President Donald Trump, the federal government is
intentionally withholding aid to Republican disaster victims. Far-right
extremist groups warn on social media that officials plan to bulldoze
affected communities and seize the land from residents. A tale straight
from science fiction asserts that Washington used weather control
technology to steer Helene toward Republican voters in order to tilt the
presidential election toward Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
The claims, according to experts and local officials dealing with
disaster response, say less about the reality of the widespread damage
from Helene than they do about America's fractured politics and the fear
and distrust shadowing an election year marked by assassination attempts
and escalating global tension.
Debunking conspiracy theories takes time away from recovery efforts
As rescue work continues and authorities try to separate fact from
fiction, the conspiracy theories are not helping. Elected leaders from
both parties have had to set the record straight and urge people not to
give into fear and rumor.
"If everyone could maybe please put aside the hate for a bit and pitch
in to help, that would be great,” posted Glenn Jacobs, the retired
professional wrestler known as Kane, who is now the Republican mayor of
Knox County, Tennessee. Jacobs' post was intended to rebut rumors that
workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were seizing relief
supplies from private citizens.
Many of the conspiracy theories focus on hard-hit North Carolina, a
state key to winning the White House. Rumors circulated that FEMA was
raiding storm donations and withholding body bags, forcing local
hospitals to stack the bodies of victims. One claim suggested federal
authorities would condemn the entire town of Chimney Rock and prohibit
resettlement in order to commandeer a valuable lithium mine nearby.
False claims of blocked relief flights and aid withheld from
Republicans
Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, X and SpaceX, posted that private relief
flights to North Carolina were being blocked by the Federal Aviation
Administration, a claim dismissed as false by Transportation Secretary
Pete Buttigieg.
Despite the tradition of Democrats and Republicans putting aside
politics for disaster response, many conspiracy theories suggest
Democrats such as President Joe Biden or North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper
are intentionally withholding aid from Republicans. Trump has pushed the
claim, as has North Carolina's lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson, the
embattled GOP nominee for governor.
“They’re being treated very badly in the Republican areas,” Trump told
Fox News, ignoring reports and photo and video evidence of recovery
efforts underway throughout the region. “They’re not getting water,
they’re not getting anything.”
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones endorsed Trump's fact-free allegation.
Jones, the founder of InfoWars, popularized the idea that the Sandy Hook
Elementary School shooting in Connecticut that killed 20 children in
2012 was faked. “Exclusive: Victims of Hurricane Helene Confirm The
Federal Government is Purposely Blocking Rescuers and Stealing Aid In an
Attempt to Keep Deep Red Areas From Voting," Jones posted Thursday on X.
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Areas impacted by Hurricane Helene near Chimney Rock, N.C.,
Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, can be seen by President Joe Biden, as he
flies on Marine One to survey the area.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Disinformation campaigns by China and Russia amplify the
misleading claims
State-run media and disinformation campaigns run by China and Russia
have amplified false and misleading claims about the response to the
storm. Both countries have used social media and state news stories
to criticize responses to past U.S. natural disasters, part of a
larger effort to stoke division and distrust among Americans.
State and local officials from both parties have condemned the
conspiracy theories as rumors, saying the focus should be on
recovery, not political division and hearsay. Responding to the
hoaxes is taking up time that should go toward assisting victims,
said North Carolina state Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Republican who urged
his constituents not to give into hoaxes.
“Friends can I ask a small favor?" Corbin posted Thursday on
Facebook. “Will you all help STOP this conspiracy theory junk that
is floating all over Facebook and the internet... Please don’t let
these crazy stories consume you.”
After Robinson, the GOP candidate for North Carolina governor,
posted that state officials had not prepared for the storm, a
spokesman for the governor accused Robinson of mounting “an online
disinformation campaign.” North Carolina officials say the response
to Helene is the largest in state history, including thousands of
members of the National Guard and other recovery workers, millions
of meals, dozens of aircraft and more than 1,000 chainsaws.
Trump has tried to tie the hurricane’s aftermath to immigration, a
leading issue of his campaign. He falsely claimed that FEMA had run
out of money because all of it had gone to programs for undocumented
immigrants.
The agency's funding for disaster aid is stretched, but that is
because of the many parts of the country dealing with the effects of
hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities. Disaster aid is funded
separately from other Department of Homeland Security programs that
support immigration-related spending.
Far-out tales of space lasers, fake snow and weather control
technology
Bizarre stories proposing that the government used weather control
technology to aim the hurricane at Republican voters quickly racked
up millions of views on X and other platforms.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., endorsed the idea, posting
Wednesday on X: “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous
for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”
Far-out tales of space lasers, fake snow and weather control
technology -- sometimes tinged with antisemitism — have spread after
recent natural disasters, including a snowstorm in Texas and last
year’s wildfire in Maui.
Experts who study conspiracy theories say big events like disasters
— or the Sept. 11 attacks or the COVID-19 pandemic — create perfect
conditions for conspiracy theories to spread because large numbers
of anxious people are eager to find explanations for shocking
events.
Responding to the volume of false claims about Helene, the Red Cross
urged people to consult trustworthy sources of information and to
think twice before reposting conspiracy theories.
“Sharing rumors online without first vetting the source and
verifying facts ultimately hurts people — people who have just lost
their homes, neighborhoods, and, in some cases, loved ones," the
organization wrote in a public plea.
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