Officials battling to deal with the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene in the United States are also battling a social media storm by cranks spreading false rumours about how disaster funds have been used, and even claims that officials control the weather, Reuters reports.
Conservative politicians have entered the fray, too.
Republican Congress member Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X Thursday night: “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”
Reuters reports that one of the more far-fetched rumours is that Helene was an engineered storm to allow corporations to mine regional lithium deposits. Others accuse the administration of President Joe Biden of using federal disaster funds to help migrants in the country illegally, or suggest officials are deliberately abandoning bodies in the cleanup.
Republicans and Democrats alike say the rumours 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 North Carolina Senate – a state that is one of the hardest hit by Helene. “98% chance it’s not true and if it is a problem, somebody is aware and on it,” he wrote on Facebook.
White House officials on Friday accused some Republican leaders and conservative media of intentionally peddling rumours to divide Americans in a way that could harm disaster relief efforts.
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