Donald Trump and his supporters are relaying a lot of false information about the federal response to the victims of the hurricane. These comments have frightened some victims who no longer dare to ask for help and are worrying the Democratic camp, less than a month before the election.
A deluge of false information. A week after the devastating passage of Hurricane Helen in the southeast of the United States, which left more than 200 dead across half a dozen states, the reconstruction of devastated communities is marred by the propagation of theories of the conspiracy. Relayed by Donald Trump and his supporters, these affirm that the American president, Joe Biden, refuses to provide aid to the Republican disaster victims, or that the aid would be diverted to be paid to migrants.
Faced with attacks, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris lambasted “crooks, bad faith actors” Who “want to sow chaos because they think it serves their political interests”quotes the New York Times . Attacks far from being trivial, since North Carolina and Georgia, very hard hit by the disaster, are among the key states in this election, where the two candidates are neck and neck with less than a month left. of the vote on November 5. And convincing these undecided voters could prove decisive in the race for the White House.
The disinformation began on September 30, the day after the hurricane. Visiting the devastated town of Valdosta (Georgia), Donald Trump claimed that the governor of this state, Republican Brian Kemp, had tried to call Joe Biden to ask for help, but that he had not “couldn’t reach him”reports CNN. Brian Kemp, however, later clarified to journalists that he had spoken to the American president, and that it was he who had missed a call from the White House. On his social network Truth Social, the Republican candidate also claimed that the federal government “did everything possible” so as not to “help people in republican areas” from North Carolina. When asked about his allegations by an MSNBC reporter, Donald Trump provided no supporting evidence.
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Most of Donald Trump’s accusations focus on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), the government agency responsible for managing emergency situations. On September 3, during a meeting in Michigan, the billionaire accused Kamala Harris of having allocated money from this organization to house illegal migrants, that the Democrats “want to see people vote for them”. However, voting by foreigners in the American presidential election is… prohibited. The next day he repeated that“a billion dollars” had been “stolen” to Fema to be allocated to migrants.
On its website, Fema was forced to dedicate a special page to respond to these rumors and ensures that“no funds intended for disaster response have been diverted.” Congress has allocated 650 million dollars (around 591 million euros) for 2024 to a migrant aid program administered by Fema, but it is separate from the budget reserved for victims of natural disasters, underlines CNN. “The Republican camp is firing on all cylinders, the climate is a theme like any other for them”analysis for franceinfo Ludivine Gilli, director of the North America observatory at the Jean-Jaurès Foundation.
“A natural disaster with many people affected is a perfect opportunity for Republicans to blame the Democrats.”
Ludivine Gilli, specialist in the United Statesat franceinfo
“This type of statement is more likely to put off moderate voters who might vote Republican than to convince thembelieves Ludivine Gilli. The goal is not to expand their electorate, but to over-mobilize their base.”
Other fake news is shared by supporters of Donald Trump and the American “alt-right”. Trump conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene claims, for example, that Washington used “weather control technology” to direct Hurricane Helene towards Republican voters. On X, the chosen one assures: “Yes, they can control the climate.” And she accuses Fema of “hate Christians”. The first post has 42 million views.
The famous conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, owner of the Infowars propaganda channel and followed by 2.8 million people on X, develops in a video what he presents as “the secret history” of the “weather weapons” used during Hurricane Helene. He accuses Fema of only granting 750 dollars (around 682 euros) to the victims. However, this is the amount of immediate aid but other subsidies exist, underlines the agency.
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Another false report claiming that the federal government would like to take over the disaster-stricken town of Chimney Rock, North Carolina, in order to completely raze the town, was widely reported on X, as was the rumor that the Biden administration would like extract lithium there, develops the site of national public radio, NPR. Elon Musk himself, owner of “No one closes the airspace”contradicted Democratic Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, quoted by CNBC.
False images of devastation, created with artificial intelligence, have also proliferated on social networks. Conservative influencers shared a fake photo of a crying child holding a wet puppy. Another showed a combative Donald Trump, wearing a life vest on a street flooded by the hurricane.
This misinformation adds to an already existing confusion, particularly within affected communities in rural areas, where residents deprived of electricity and network are forced to rely on rumors, explains the Washington Post. On October 5, while traveling in Charlotte (North Carolina), Kamala Harris assured that the federal government was “there for a long time”reports PBS, and two days later described Donald Trump as“incredibly irresponsible” for spreading fake news, cites ABC News.
“Even before entering politics, Donald Trump became known for his lies. One of his first controversies was over Barack Obama’s birthplace”recalls Ludivine Gilli. Since the billionaire’s election to the White House in 2016, climate and weather events have caused constant “conspiracy interpretations” on his part and that of his supporters, adds Tristan Mendès France, co-presenter of the “Complorama” podcast on franceinfo. “The American complosphere has long asserted that the ‘deep state’ [“deep state” en anglais] would be able to control the climateunderlines the member of Conspiracy Watch, a conspiracy observatory. As soon as there is an earthquake, they particularly hit the Haarp, an American research program on the ionosphere [une couche de l’atmosphère].”
“In the conspiratorial imagination, there can be no coincidence. If Hurricane Helene hits electoral areas favorable to the Republicans, it is necessarily intentional.”
Tristan Mendès France, conspiracy specialistat franceinfo
Already in 2018, Majorie Taylor Greene assured that a bank run by the Rothschild family was responsible for a fire in California and raised the possibility that “lasers or beams of blue light” are responsible, points out Associated Press. In 2021, conspiracy theorists claimed that a snowstorm in Texas was created by the Democratic government, underlines Reuters.
This denial of the amplification of natural disasters by global warming also corresponds to the ideology of Donald Trump and the majority of the Republican Party. On September 28, the former president called the climate crisis a “one of the biggest scams of all time”. During a debate with Kamala Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, her Republican alter ego, JD Vance, questioned “the idea that CO2 emissions are the cause of all climate change.”
Since Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, these climate-skeptical comments have reached an unprecedented audience. The billionaire significantly reduced content moderation on X and removed the curation team. Banned users have been reinstated and audience from paid accounts is favored. Gold, “those who are ready to give money to Elon Musk are in line with his ideology”, resumes Tristan Mendès France. “We are witnessing an even more uninhibited form of conspiratorial comments.”
Beyond the fake news spread in its wake, Hurricane Helene already risks disrupting the presidential election. In North Carolina, many polling stations were damaged or requisitioned by emergency services, reports AP. For its part, Florida, already hit by Helen, is preparing for the arrival of a new violent disturbance, Hurricane Milton, on Wednesday. And with it, the feared surge of a new wave of disinformation.