Lies about the Hurricane Helene response forecast a storm of misinformation for next month’s election

Perhaps most alarming is what these lies signal for the upcoming election. Tim Alberta, a staff writer at The Atlantic, warned on X: “If you think the lies and distortions and know-nothing takes about FEMA are bad, just wait until this time next month.” 

Donald Trump lies. He lies a lot. And in the final month of this presidential campaign, he’s only become more prone to making things up for political gain.

As Hurricane Helene ravaged the southeastern United States last month, leaving over 200 dead and countless others in dire need of assistance, one might hope for unity and clear communication from our leaders. Instead, we’re witnessing a flood of misinformation, much of it emanating from former President Trump and his allies on the right.

Trump has spread baseless claims about the federal response to Helene on social media and in public appearances. Without a shred of evidence, he’s accused the Biden administration and North Carolina’s Democratic Governor Roy Cooper of withholding or diverting relief funds from Republican areas. “A billion dollars was stolen from FEMA to use it for illegal migrants,” Trump alleged earlier this month.

Let’s be clear: There’s absolutely no evidence to support these accusations. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell has refuted these claims, emphasizing the danger they pose. “This level of misinformation creates the scenario where they won’t even come to us,” Criswell said in an Oct. 4 press conference. “They won’t even register, and I need people to register so they can get what they’re eligible for through our programs.”

The following day, North Carolina’s widely read The Charlotte Observer took Trump to task for “worsening NC’s Helene tragedy with political lies.”

“This is not a situation to capitalize on for political gain. But former President Donald Trump has politicized the situation at every turn, spreading falsehoods and conspiracies that fracture the community instead of bringing it together,” wrote the paper’s editorial board.

CNN’s Daniel Dale also ticked through more than half a dozen Trump hurricane lies—some of which he told multiple times.

Even members of Trump’s own party are pushing back against lies about the response. North Carolina state Senator Kevin Corbin, a Republican representing a district devastated by the storm, took to Facebook with an exasperated plea: “Will you all help STOP this conspiracy theory junk that is floating all over Facebook and the internet about the floods in [North Carolina]? These rumors are just a distraction to people trying to do their job.”

It’s not just Trump; Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), has also joined the misinformation campaign. Musk claimed that FEMA is “actively blocking citizens who try to help,” again without providing any evidence. The spread of these baseless allegations isn’t just irresponsible—it’s dangerous.

Local officials report that debunking these rumors uses up valuable resources that could be better spent on recovery efforts. Kerry Giles, the public information officer for Rutherford County, North Carolina, told CNN that addressing misinformation “did consume resources that could have been more effectively utilized in the recovery efforts.”

The irony here is thick enough to cut with a knife. Trump is accusing the Biden administration of misusing FEMA funds in a way similar to what he did during his presidency. In 2019, the Trump administration moved $155 million meant for FEMA disaster relief to support immigration enforcement. It’s a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Perhaps most alarming is what these lies signal for the upcoming election. Tim Alberta, a staff writer at The Atlantic, warned on X: “If you think the lies and distortions and know-nothing takes about FEMA are bad, just wait until this time next month.” The spread of misinformation isn’t just a nuisance; it’s a direct threat to our democratic process.

Social media platforms, especially X under Musk’s leadership, have become breeding grounds for these false narratives. Musk’s rollback of content moderation policies has allowed misinformation to thrive. David French, a conservative columnist, lamented, “Republican elected officials keep rebutting the BS, and MAGA does not care. They follow liars, and when the liars lie, they believe them and hate anyone who tells the truth.”

Local media outlets and journalists are working overtime to counteract these falsehoods. But as Brian Stelter pointed out in a recent CNN article, “Almost as quickly as one rumor is debunked, another pops up, sending callers streaming to their elected officials and creating a logjam that might hinder folks from requesting and receiving desperately needed aid.”

This deluge of misinformation has real-world consequences. When people believe that the government is confiscating supplies or neglecting them based on political affiliation, they may hesitate to seek the help they need. FEMA has even established a rumor control page to debunk false claims, but as journalist Mike Rothschild noted, “Nobody who wants to believe the lies will trust the source, and the denials will just be rolled into the conspiracy theories.”

We have to ask ourselves: How did we get here? How did we arrive at a place where truth is so easily discarded in favor of partisan narratives? Part of the problem lies in the deliberate erosion of trust in institutions and the media. When Trump brands any unfavorable news as “fake,” it primes his supporters to dismiss factual reporting.

But we can’t lay all the blame at Trump’s feet. Social media platforms bear significant responsibility. Musk’s X, in particular, has become a hotbed for conspiracy theories. Even more than that, Musk himself is one of the most prolific spreaders of these theories. The lack of effective content moderation allows these lies to spread like wildfire.

As the election draws near, expect the flood of lies to intensify. Expect bad actors like Musk to push politically convenient rumors. It’s crucial that we remain vigilant. Our democracy depends on voters being capable of discerning fact from fiction.

Donald Trump lies. And unless we confront this storm of misinformation head-on, we’re in for a very dark chapter in our nation’s history.