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People are crazy
US ofcls struggle to quash Hurricane #Helene #ConspiracyTheories
In the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Helene in the #UnitedStates this week, a new storm emerged on #socialmedia - #lies about how #DisasterFunds have been used, & even claims that ofcls control the weather.
Local & national government ofcls say they are trying to combat the lies, including one spread by #Trump.
#VoteBlue for #Sanity & #CommonSense #HarrisWalz2024
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-officials-struggle-quash-hurricane-helene-conspiracy-theories-2024-10-05/
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 #Biden admin of using federal #DisasterFunds to help #migrants in the country illegally, or suggest ofcls are deliberately abandoning bodies in the cleanup.
#Republican #Congress member Marjorie Taylor Greene posted Thurs night: "Yes they can control the weather. It's ridiculous for anyone to lie & say it can't be done."
#VoteBlue #HarrisWalz2024
The #ConspiracyTheories come at a pivotal time for rescue & recovery efforts following the storm, one of the deadliest #US #hurricanes this century. And the presidential #election between #Trump & VP #KamalaHarris is just over a month away.
#Republicans & #Democrats alike say the #lies 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 #NorthCarolina #Senate - a state that is one of the hardest hit by #Helene. "98% chance it's not true & if it is a problem, somebody is aware & on it," he wrote on FB.
"I'm growing a bit weary of intentional distractions," he added.
#WhiteHouse ofcls on Fri accused some Republican *leaders* & *conservative* #media of intentionally peddling #lies 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 & #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 & services. None. At. All."
In response to a request for comment for this article, the #Trump camp repeated the #lies that #FEMA funds had been spent on housing migrants in the country illegally.
#FEMA has the funds for immediate response and recovery efforts for #Helene, the #WhiteHouse memo said, & has provided millions of dollars in relief to those recovering.
FEMA has been the target of so many #lies it has set up a rumor response page on its website to try to tamp them down.
Some ofcls 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 w/thousands of views.
Disaster events are often politicized, said Kate Starbird, co-founder of the Center for an #InformedPublic at the U of WA, adding that social media rewards "sensationalism & outrage w/attention."
"Manipulating the sensemaking process (e.g. spreading #ConspiracyTheories & #disinformation) & politicizing the event will both make it harder to respond & recover now — & to make informed decisions about how to prepare for & mitigate the next one," Starbird said.
@Nonilex I mean, are Americans genuinely THIS stupid to believe this bullshit the Republicans are actually shoveling??
You seem to be unfamiliar with the decades-old history of #RupertMurdock, #RogerAiles, #NewsCorp, and #FOXNews in the United States of America
cc @Nonilex
@FinchHaven @Nonilex I’m well aware. Still boggles the mind about how ignorant people are that they believe this garbage
@Nonilex
There must be something they can be charged with for sabotaging and obstructing relief efforts? These aren't regular people, they are politicians and one is a candidate for POTUS FFS!
Just because HE did it, he thinks everyone does it.
@Nonilex
A *Republican* NC state senator wrote, "I'm growing a bit weary of intentional distractions"!
Me too, buddy. I'm more than a bit weary of Republicans' intentional distractions.
And the same guy (Corbin) introduced a bill that would have prevented social media sites from removing the very disinformation he’s desperate to stop spreading. Like everything with Republicans, suddenly they’re very concerned when it happens to *them*.