FEMA Chief Says Misinformation 'Starting To Go Down' Amid Disaster Response
HuffPost
Even some Republicans are calling out the lies being spread by people such as Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
WASHINGTON – FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said Wednesday that the swirl of misinformation being spread by right-wing influencers on social media — and by former President Donald Trump — about the federal disaster response to Hurricane Helene is starting to wane.
“We’re still seeing some misinformation out there. I do believe that the volume of misinformation is starting to go down,” Criswell said on a call 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 Management Agency has had to counter a surge of misinformation and conspiracy theories amid its disaster response to Helene. Prominent Republicans have fueled these rumors. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) claimed the U.S. government is able to control the weather and has targeted predominantly GOP states. Trump falsely claimed the Biden administration is taking money away from FEMA and using it to help immigrants vote illegally in the November elections. Trump also falsely claimed FEMA is only giving $750 to survivors of Helene.
As FEMA prepares for Hurricane Milton, which was on track to hit Florida later Wednesday and potentially decimate the Tampa Bay region, it is bracing for more misinformation to flow. But this time around, some Republicans are calling out members of their own party to knock it off with the dangerous lies.
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