False claims about the federal government's response to the historic devastation left by Hurricane Helen are spreading out of control on social media,
hindering recovery efforts in hard-hit areas, local officials say. The presidential contest between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is sure to provoke further attacks on truth, and the deluge of misinformation about the Biden administration's response to the devastating storm is a grim sign for the upcoming election. "If you think lies, distortions and ignorant views about FEMA are bad, just wait until this time next month," Tim Alberta, an editor and writer for The Atlantic, wrote about X, the primary platform where falsehoods spread faster than facts. Elon Musk, owner of X, a Trump supporter, has repeatedly posted rumors and insinuations disparaging the federal government's response to Helen. Most of this misinformation is explicitly political in nature. They portray President Joe Biden and Harris as incompetent to help Trump get re-elected. Politicians and emergency workers in affected areas from Georgia to North Carolina, including many elected Republicans, denied the lie and urged the public not to spread unfounded rumors on social media. Kelly Giles, spokesperson for Rutherford County, North Carolina, told CNN on Saturday that debunking the rumor "used resources that could have been better directed toward recovery efforts." Giles and others issued a statement Friday debunking several lies being spread online about the devastated towns of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock Village. No, the government is not planning to take over Chimney Rock, they said. No, property confiscation has not been discussed. No, there are not bodies "everywhere" as a result of the storm. Giles told CNN that "Snopes.com and local media have covered the majority of the debunkings and helped reduce the spread of some of the misinformation." Some of the most widely shared lies on social media centered around FEMA's response. Trump has falsely claimed that aid money was being withheld from Republican-majority areas after officials allocated it to help migrants. Trump falsely claimed Friday in Georgia that $1 billion was stolen from FEMA and used on illegal immigrants. But Trump has actually accused the Biden administration of engaging in actions very similar to those he would have engaged in as president. "Republicans in Congress continue to expose the bullshit, but MAGA doesn't seem to care," conservative columnist David French said in a social media post on Saturday. "They follow liars, they believe them when they lie, and they hate those who tell the truth."
Experienced FEMA officials have launched a rumor management page to refute false claims, including the allegation that they are “confiscating donations to survivors.” Journalist Mike Rothschild, who has written two books on conspiracy theories, said FEMA’s efforts are “noble but doomed to fail.” He wrote Or, as the host of the progressive podcast “Apodracia” put it more bluntly, “the Internet has destroyed people’s brains.” Misleading AI-generated images purporting to be of disaster areas have gone viral on Facebook, prompting local news stations to publish “detection guides.” AI-generated photos of storm Helen” – description. North Carolina columnist Billy Ball wrote on Friday: “There are many crises in the United States, but few are as serious as the information crisis. People lie to us to hate us, to get money, or to support some cause.” And every sign points to the climate getting even worse when vote counting begins next month.
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