A flood of misinformation has inundated social media and western North Carolina since Helene hit.
The misinformation is a mix of rumors, hoaxes and conspiracy theories that in some cases come from AI-generate footage or old events that happened somewhere else.
One rumor was the town of Chimney Rock was going to be seized by the government and bulldozed. It sparked the county’s emergency department to issue a statement that said: “There have been no discussions or actions taken by the federal, state, or local government related to property seizure in Chimney Rock or any other part of Rutherford County.”
Another rumor was FEMA was confiscating donations for survivors.
FEMA said that too was false. The agency does not take away donations or food from survivors or voluntary organizations. FEMA also does not conduct vehicle stops, because that is handled by local law enforcement.
FEMA also does not ask for cash donations and is not supposed to turn away volunteers.
While some of the origins of the rumors are hard to pinpoint, some are being amplified by politicians, including former President Donald Trump.
In a speech in Pennsylvania on Saturday, Trump said “they’re offering them $750 to people who's homes have been washed away, and yet we send tens of billions of dollars to countries that most people have never heard of.”
FEMA does offer $750 to storm victims, but context is important. It’s only one type of help known as Serious Needs Assistance.
The assistance is actually a new type of aid from FEMA, and while it does count toward the maximum amount of other needs assistance eligible people can receive, it’s by no means the only funding victims can receive from FEMA.
The agency said the goal of that $750 is to be immediate to cover items like food, water and baby formula. It’s the short-term help not the long-term.
On Thursday, Trump made also this claim in Michigan: “Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing of illegal migrants…and the Harris-Biden administration says they don’t have any money, they spent all of their money on illegal migrants.”
FEMA does have a shelter and services program where it reimburses cities, towns or and organizations for immigration-related expenses but that comes from a separate pot of money that’s funded by Congress.
The help FEMA is providing to western North Carolina is from the Disaster Relief Fund.
“We could have a discussion about the failure of this administration's border policies and the billions of dollars it's costing. But right now, not yet is it affecting the flow of resources to western North Carolina,” said (R-NC) Sen. Thom Tillis on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday.
And while FEMA said there are long-term funding concerns the agency does currently have enough money for Helene response. The agency encourages people affected by Helene not to hesitate and to apply for aid at disasterassistance.gov.
These examples are just a sampling of some of the misinformation that’s emerged in the past week.
Republican North Carolina state senator Kevin Corbin issued a plea on Facebook writing in part “please help stop this junk,” he wrote. “It is just a distraction to people trying to do their job. Folks, this is a catastrophic event of which this country has never known.”
And on Tuesday Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican representing western North Carolina, issued a press release debunking a series of myths writing: “I encourage you to remember that everything you see on Facebook, X, or any other social media platform is not always fact. Please make sure you are fact checking what you read online with a reputable source.”
There has no doubt been criticism for how the government has responded to Helene.
Some of that centers on whether the assigned soldiers, ordered by President Joe Biden, have shifted to western North Carolina quickly enough and whether the state was truly ready for a disaster of this level.
That debate will continue, but on the flip side, there’s been praise for how the federal government has responded to Helene, including from the Republican governors of South Carolina and Tennessee. North Carolina's Democratic governor has also praised the Biden administration's response.
What is not up for debate is fact versus fiction, and first responders say the latter is making a dangerous situation even worse.
To help storm victims, visit nc.gov/donate. The fund is run by the United Way of North Carolina.