Misinformation About The 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season

Late in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, misinformation and conspiracy theories spread about the nature of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, and about the post-storm disaster recoveries. False information was spread by multiple American right-wing politicians including Donald Trump, who was the 2024 Republican presidential candidate, and congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. These widespread rumors caused difficulties for first responders and official recovery workers, hampering rescue efforts, and some officials were subject to threats of violence. The White House and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued statements in response to these claims.

Background

In early 2024, hurricane forecasters predicted a highly-active season, citing the La Niña effect and warm sea surface temperatures. After the earliest-forming Category 5 hurricane on record, Hurricane Beryl, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintained this prediction through August. In what was expected to be the peak season, however, there were few storms, and some called the season a "bust".

In late September and early October, Hurricanes Helene and Milton developed as Category 4 and 5 hurricanes, respectively, breaking the lull. Helene caused extensive damage across the Southeastern United States, becoming the deadliest hurricane to strike the US mainland since Hurricane Katrina. In particular, the hurricane caused flooding in western North Carolina, hundreds of miles from the coast; NOAA described this unusually high inland rainfall as a "worst-case scenario" for the region. Milton broke the National Weather Service's record for rapid intensification, strengthening to a Category 5 and increasing its wind speeds by in 24 hours. The season became the second costliest in history, with $190 billion in damages, and broke records for amount of storm activity in the later period of a hurricane season.

Claims

Weather modification

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia's 14th congressional district claimed in a tweet on October 3 that it is possible to use weather modification to influence hurricanes.: " ep. Marjorie TaylorGreene, after spending years trying to distance herself from her infamous 2018 remarks on social media blaming wildfires on 'Jewish Space Lasers,' is now using this climate emergency to double down on weather conspiracies and lasers. While Greene stopped short of blaming Jews for the hurricanes, she has promoted conspiracies that have a history of being steeped in antisemitism. 'Yes they can control the weather,' Greene wrote on X on October 3 about the hurricanes, without specifying who 'they' are. 'It's ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can't be done. Three days later, Greene made another post claiming weather modification was possible and in use. Prominent right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones made claims that Hurricanes Milton and Helene were "weather weapons" created by the US government. Meteorologists Matthew Cappucci, Katie Nickolaou, and James Spann claimed to have received threats, accusing them of concealing that the US government was controlling the hurricane.

Claims that the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) research project in Alaska can modify the weather have existed since at least 2012. Agence France-Presse reported on popular social media posts claiming that the device created the storm; however, a research scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which runs the project, stated that is too low-powered to control weather. Likewise, the nationwide weather radar system known as Next-Generation Radar (NEXRAD) was the subject of claims that it could be used to control weather patterns. As a radar system it emits only a small amount of energy, which NOAA's Hurricane Research Division states is too low to influence weather.

In research prior to the 2024 season, researchers have considered the social and ethical impacts of hurricane modification. In 2012, a survey found that proposals for weather modification to redirect hurricane paths induced feelings of anger in Florida residents. The US government retired hurricane seeding experiments in 1983 after attempts proved futile and in 1998 the American Meteorological Society adopted an official position considering it unfeasible.

FEMA blocking aid

''USA Today'' reported on viral social media posts claiming that law enforcement in North Carolina were seeking to arrest Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) staff for allegedly hindering relief work, a claim denied by state officials. Elon Musk faced criticism from ''The Atlantic'', NPR, and ''Politico'' for amplifying claims without evidence that FEMA had been expropriating aid shipments, blocking private citizens from rendering aid, and that sheriffs in North Carolina had threatened to arrest FEMA staff. The Twitter account for fake news website Real Raw News falsely claimed that the United States Marine Corps were using snipers to kill FEMA employees. US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, FEMA Director of Public Affairs Jaclyn Rothenberg, and Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer received antisemitic attacks online and claimed to have feared for their safety in response work. FEMA received credible threats of violence directed at its staff, including calls for militias to shoot emergency responders. One armed man acting alone was arrested in Rutherford County, North Carolina, on October 14, 2024 for making threats against FEMA employees; as a result, aid workers relocated their work from the county.

On November 9, 2024, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell released an official statement announcing that a FEMA employee had "advise her survivor assistance team to not go to homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Trump". Criswell referred to the act as "reprehensible". The alleged discrimination occurred in Florida, and the employee was fired for these alleged actions. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a federal lawsuit against FEMA in response to the allegation of discrimination.

Land acquisition

''PBS News Hour'' reported on a belief that the US government was using the disaster to seize land, in particular destroyed homes. Following Hurricane Helene, rumors spread online that Chimney Rock, North Carolina, had been intentionally abandoned by relief officials so that the federal government could mine lithium after evacuating the residents or after leaving the residents for dead. County officials denied any plans of the sort. In Florida, WUSF reported similar rumors that spread in the days leading up to Hurricane Milton's landfall, which caused the governor's office to rebut claims of FEMA seizing Floridians' homes.

Expenditure of relief funds on migrants

On October 3, Donald Trump accused the Biden administration of spending FEMA disaster relief funds on housing for " illegal migrants", and he claimed that the agency had run out of funding for disaster recovery efforts. Ohio Representative Jim Jordan similarly claimed that disaster funds had gone to house migrants. Elon Musk amplified the claim on Twitter, indicating that he viewed FEMA's alleged expenditures on migrants as "treason" and endorsing a call for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to be arrested. The ''Washington Post'' found no evidence that FEMA had redirected any disaster relief funding to migrant resettlement,: "During a rally Thursday in Saginaw, Mich., former president Donald Trump suggested without evidence that FEMA had used some disaster relief money to help immigrants who are in the country illegally to resettle in the United States. There is no evidence that FEMA has diverted any disaster relief funding for this purpose." and the agency stated that it had continued to spend money towards relief efforts.

AI-generated images

On social media, multiple viral AI-generated images spread supposedly depicting the hurricane and its response. The ''Knoxville News Sentinel'' reported on one image of a flooded town that was claimed to be Gatlinburg, Tennessee, prompting a response from town officials that the town was not flooded and safe to visit.

After Helene, an AI-generated image of a girl holding a puppy while sitting in a boat floating on flooded waters circulated among Republicans, who used it as evidence of alleged failures of the Biden administration to respond to the disaster. ''The Atlantic'' noted that some politicians did not retract the image after learning it was fake, "insisting that it's real on some deeper level". Another image cited by ''USA Today'' depicted Donald Trump wading through floodwaters to rescue people, despite Trump wearing different clothing during his visit to the area.: "But the image, which was shared the same day and shows the former president wading through a flooded street, isn't legitimate. … There are no credible reports of the former president wading through flood waters while visiting Georgia. Pictures captured during his trip show him wearing a black suit with a red tie, not the blue long-sleeve shirt shown in the viral image." Following Milton's track across Florida, AI-generated images depicting flooding in Walt Disney World posted to Telegram by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti were republished by Russian news networks. AI- and computer-generated images supposedly documenting the hurricane's tornado outbreak were widely shared, including by British tabloid ''The Mirror''. Reuters quoted an anonymous US intelligence official who claimed Russian and Chinese influence operations spread AI-generated misinformation related to the hurricanes.

Effects

Multiple commentators alleged that Republican Party politicians' promotion of these claims was intended to gain an advantage in the 2024 United States presidential election. Jim Puzzanghera in ''The Boston Globe'' claimed that the party was "seeking nedge" in hurricane-battered Georgia because it is a swing state, "exploiting the trauma" by using claims about the Biden administration's response efforts to reduce support for the Kamala Harris's campaign. ''The Guardian'' misinformation reporter Rachel Leingang argued that misinformation was likely so prevalent due to the proximity to the election, quoting a fellow at the American Immigration Council who claimed that "there's no question that this level of falsehoods would not be spread were there not an election a month away".

Local officials and relief workers have had to expend resources combatting misinformation that might otherwise have been used toward first response work.: "The practical effect of these falsehoods is that local officials have to spend precious time and energy combatting misinformation, rather than recovery efforts." FEMA and White House officials have expressed concern that survivors and others impacted by the storms may be less likely to seek relief from the agency due to the misinformation.: The misinformation is extremely damaging to the response efforts from Helene and from any disaster,' eith Turi, FEMA's Acting Associate Administrator for Response and Recoverysaid. 'It is reducing the likelihood that survivors will come to FEMA in a trusting way to register for assistance. (for the official statement, see : "In fact, disinformation after a hurricane or other natural disaster can discourage people from seeking critical assistance when they need it most.") In response, the White House directed federal agencies to engage with the public on social media with evidence the government was on the ground helping relief efforts.: "Senior US officials have also instructed public affairs teams at federal agencies to ramp up social media posts from government accounts with photos that illustrate how federal workers are clearing debris and dispensing aid, the first US official familiar with the effort said." FEMA added a page on its website to rebut claims. Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards, who represents North Carolina's 11th congressional district which was heavily affected by Hurricane Helene, released a statement to his constituents rebutting several claims. Writing in ''The Atlantic'', former US Department of Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem gave particular criticism to Twitter under Elon Musk, where she argued recent changes to content moderation had made it more difficult to discern reliable sources.: "But under its current owner, Elon Musk, the platform, renamed X, has changed its algorithms, account-verification system, and content-moderation approach in ways that make the platform less reliable in a crisis."

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{{Conspiracy theories

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2024 controversies in the United States
2024 natural disasters in the United States
Hurricane season 2024
Hurricane season 2024
Hurricane season 2024
Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Milton
Hurricane season 2024
Right-wing politics in the United States
Weather modification in North America