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How misinformation spread rapidly after Helene

Various social media platform icons as seen on
Matt Cardy
/
Getty Images
Various social media platform icons as seen on a smartphone screen. Social media sites play a key role in the spread of all information, including mis- and disinformation which has hindered FEMA's response in certain areas of the Southeast after Helene.

Since the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, arrived in East Tennessee over two months ago, they’ve set up five disaster recovery centers, and have been encouraging flood victims to file for assistance.

But many people have expressed skepticism or downright distrust of the agency. False claims have spread rapidly on social media, fueling feelings of doubt that the agency will even help at all.

“We still have people coming in today,” said Rick Brewer, spokesperson for FEMA, nearly eight weeks after the storm hit. “We’re happy to see ’em, but we’re wondering, ‘What took you so long to get here?’”

Brewer says the agency was still seeing victims file applications for aid as late as November, nearly two months after the disaster.

“If we see one person a day, that’s a good day,” Brewer said.

But how did it get this way?

Martin Riedl is an assistant professor of journalism and media at the University of Tennessee. His research focuses on the way misinformation spreads on social media, and how those platforms moderate content.

“If we receive information that confirms hunches and beliefs and things … we are more likely to sort of believe those pieces of information and potentially share those pieces of information,” Riedl said. “People have legitimate fears, and in a situation of crisis may be more prone to spread content without fact checking.”

In the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, Riedl says this is exactly what happened.

“One of the things that was very concerning for me to see in the context of Hurricane Helene … was the outrageous claims that people made,” Riedl said. “What had me really concerned there was sort of how national politics used this catastrophe towards its ends.”

Soon after the disaster struck the Southeast, politicians on the national stage seized the opportunity to promote themselves and their party’s agenda. That included U.S Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who falsely claimed in one viral X post that the Biden Administration can control the weather.

“Yes they can control the weather,” Georgia U.S. House Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X. “It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”

It’s largely assumed that Greene, one of the GOP’s loudest voices in the House and a fierce critic of President Joe Biden, was referencing the Biden Administration in that post.

Following this and other messages shared by politicians in the aftermath of the storm, a flurry of misinformation emerged, much of which implicated the federal government’s involvement in either the creation of the storm or the lack of efficient response after its landfall.

“The timing was quite opportune for politicians who wanted to sort of latch onto anti-federal government narratives,” Riedl said. “This was a welcome opportunity to do just that. Whether that was within the realm of truth or not was sort of an afterthought.”

Tim Burchett, a Republican, represents Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He’s been doing just that.

“It’s another government agency that was probably started with a good intention but has gone awry,” he said.

Burchett has been making good use of X to criticize the agency since Tropical Storm Helene hit East Tennessee. While he isn’t spreading outright false information, it has still served to harm FEMA’s reputation, and thereby fuels doubt and suspicion elsewhere.

“I know the bureaucrats can sit up here in Washington and say what they're doing, but when I get pictures and I get reports, when I get phone calls from people I know telling me that it's not the case, I have a real hard problem with it,” Burchett said.

Burchett’s constituents have reached out at several points and complained about FEMA in their area. One resident posted on X, responding to Burchett, “Tim we need help in Erwin and surrounding areas, FEMA is confiscating our donations.”

“We never could pinpoint anything specific,” Burchett said. “It was all anecdotal. A lot of it was a misunderstanding.”

Another consistent rumor that has spread since FEMA has entered Tennessee and North Carolina is a false claim that the agency is impounding or stealing people’s property.

“FEMA has no interest in your property other than helping you get it cleaned up and get it jump started in your recovery,” Brewer said. “FEMA is not legally allowed to take anyone’s property, so that is just a false rumor.”

Although the rumors have slowed since election day, thousands of people are still sharing false information, whether they know it or not. Experts recommend verifying anything you see on social media with at least two reputable news sources before sharing it with others.

Pierce is a Knoxville native and an undergraduate student studying Journalism in the University of Tennessee’s College of Communication and Information. He first came to WUOT as an intern in the Spring of 2024, before transitioning into a part-time role over the Summer. In his free time, Pierce enjoys reading, photography and getting lost in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Jacqui was born and raised in Pittsburgh. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2021 with a bachelor’s in communications. Outside of work, she likes to go to baseball games, walk dogs at her local animal shelter, and hike.