WASHINGTON – FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell stated Wednesday that the swirl of misinformation being unfold by right-wing influencers on social media — and by former President Donald Trump — concerning the federal catastrophe response to Hurricane Helene is beginning to wane.
“We’re still seeing some misinformation out there. I do believe that the volume of misinformation is starting to go down,” Criswell stated on a name with members of the press. “But we need to continue to now remain focused on what our mission is: Our mission is to help people.”
“We are not going to let the misinformation be a distraction to the important work we need to do,” she added.
The Federal Emergency Administration Company has needed to counter a surge of misinformation and conspiracy theories amid its catastrophe response to Helene. Distinguished Republicans have fueled these rumors. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) claimed the U.S. authorities is ready to management the climate and has focused predominantly GOP states. Trump falsely claimed the Biden administration is taking cash away from FEMA and utilizing it to assist immigrants vote illegally within the November elections. Trump additionally falsely claimed FEMA is barely giving $750 to survivors of Helene.
As FEMA prepares for Hurricane Milton, which was on monitor to hit Florida later Wednesday and doubtlessly decimate the Tampa Bay area, it’s bracing for extra misinformation to circulate. However this time round, some Republicans are calling out members of their very own get together to knock it off with the harmful lies.
“NEW FLASH —> Humans cannot create or control hurricanes,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) wrote on social media on Wednesday, in response to Greene making this declare. “Anyone who thinks they can, needs to have their head examined.”
Republicans on the Home Appropriations Committee reportedly put collectively a brand new reality sheet about catastrophe assist that states there may be “no funding connection between” FEMA’s migrant shelter program and its catastrophe aid fund, rebutting Trump’s false declare.
The very fact sheet states there may be “no intermingling of funding between these two programs,” per Fox Information’ Chad Pergram, and “the only connection is that both programs are administered by FEMA.”
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FEMA has been stepping up its efforts to counter all the bad information. It set up a page on its website, “Hurricane Helene: Rumor Response,” devoted to countering unverified claims. North Carolina state officers arrange a similar rumor-busting webpage of their own. And in their calls with the press, FEMA officials routinely debunk the latest rumors.
“That is absolutely not true,” Keith Turi, acting director of FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery, said Monday in response to the $750 claim being spread by Trump.
Turi also shot down false claims that FEMA is confiscating people’s possessions when it goes in to help disaster survivors, calling lies like this ”extremely damaging to the response efforts.”
“It is reducing the likelihood that survivors will come to FEMA and register for assistance,” he warned. “It’s important we have those trusted relationships with all of our partners and the public, and that misinformation is directly impacting our ability.”
In unexpected remarks, President Joe Biden on Wednesday demanded that people stop spreading misinformation about the disaster response efforts. He specifically called out Trump for leading “the onslaught of lies” and Greene for her “bizarre” claim about the government controlling the weather.
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“It’s beyond ridiculous. It’s got to stop,” Biden stated to the cameras forward of a White Home briefing about preparations for Milton. “In moments like this, there are no red or blue states. There’s one United States of America, where neighbors are helping neighbors. Volunteers and first responders are risking everything, including risking their own lives, to help their fellow Americans.”
