Republicans grapple with storm of misinformation from their own party

Republicans representing states hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton are grappling with the spread of storm misinformation, much of which has stemmed from prominent figures in their own party — including sitting lawmakers and former President Trump.

The false claims have run rampant on social media since the deadly pair of storms made their way through parts of the Southeast — most notably Florida and North Carolina — with Republicans floating inaccurate allegations about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), disaster relief and the weather.

Some House GOP lawmakers who hail from hard-hit states have publicly pushed back on the misinformation, highlighting divisions in the Republican Party with less than a month to go until Election Day.

But the lawmakers — who are reluctant to take on Trump and other party leaders, and share some of their frustrations with the emergency response — are walking a careful line.

“It’s been harmful,” Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), who represents Asheville and surrounding regions that were devastated by Hurricane Helene, told The Hill in an interview of the spread of storm misinformation. “Not just unhelpful, it’s been harmful.”

“Just by the delay in our response in dealing with folks that really needed help, while we were having to fill all the calls and quash the rumor that was out there,” he added. “In addition to the fact that there were people out there that believed that if they were to send goods to western North Carolina, that they might not make it to their intended point.”

Edwards, though, has been wary of criticizing the Republicans pushing inaccurate information — a sign of the difficult political position GOP lawmakers are in as they work to assist their districts without putting a spotlight on division within the party, or taking on Trump.

Asked three times if he was frustrated with the floating of false claims by Trump, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and others, Edwards deflected, citing annoyance with the pace of FEMA’s response, blaming the theories on “storytellers,” saying he was unsure where those false claims began and contending that he has not paid attention to the spread of information.

“There are always storytellers out there that we have to deal with, and misinformation on almost any topic that we deal with, and there are those folks on social media that get their kicks by trying to amplify a message to see how many likes that they can get or how many more followers that they can get by making outrageous statements,” he told The Hill.

FEMA has been sounding the alarm on the dangers of false information, saying it is complicating an already difficult recovery effort. In a notable example, Trump has bemoaned FEMA providing $750 to disaster survivors while the U.S. sends money to foreign countries. In actuality, the $750 payment is the initial form of support disaster survivors may receive, with additional types of assistance available thereafter.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), when asked about Trump’s claims at a press conference in North Carolina last week, didn’t push back on them.

“President Trump is expressing his frustration about the lack of resources being provided,” Johnson said, adding that it is immediate assistance being provided.

Edwards has made a concerted effort to combat misinformation, headlined by a letter he sent to constituents last week “debunking” myths about the response to Hurricane Helene that pushed back on false claims amplified by Trump and Greene. Edwards told The Hill that he decided to send the letter after his staff in his district and in Washington, D.C., spent a significant amount of time fielding calls over misinformation.

The letter did not mention the GOP figures by name, but it accused “untrustworthy sources” of “trying to spark chaos” by floating false claims.

Edwards debunked the claim about the $750, and also took on a comment made by Greene saying that “they” could control the weather, implicitly blaming the government for the hurricanes — later following up with a CBS News clip from nine years ago about the possibility of using lasers to control the weather.

“Hurricane Helene was NOT geoengineered by the government,” Edwards told constituents, adding, “Nobody can control the weather.”

Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (R-Fla.), who represents some outer suburbs of Miami, also took jabs at Greene for her claims, posting on the social platform X in response that “Humans cannot create or control hurricanes.” 

“Every time she says something that I think is not right, I’ll tell her — ‘Hey, you’re not right, and you should have your head examined,’” Gimenez, a former Miami fire chief, told Scripps News.

Gimenez also defended claims made by Republicans that have gotten significant pushback.

“There are other things that have been said that are ‘misinformation’ that may not be misinformation,” Gimenez said, pointing to concerns about FEMA funds being spent on migrants and blaming President Biden’s administration for migrants coming across the border.

Numerous fact-checks have said FEMA’s spending on the transportation and shelter of migrants has not come at the expense of the agency’s disaster relief fund, which is used to address natural disasters — contrary to Trump’s claim that “$1 billion was stolen from FEMA to use it for illegal migrants.”

But regarding that spending on migrants, Gimenez said, “That means that money is not available for use in other places. Even though it’s allocated to a certain pot, that doesn’t mean it can’t be moved to the pot where it needs to be.”

Another House Republican who represents an area impacted by one of the recent hurricanes said some of the misinformation floating around about FEMA likely has roots in frustration with bureaucratic red tape.

The member described one incident where a large hay bale had blocked a road required for residents to access their homes. Local officials utilized resources to move the hay bale and were initially told by FEMA they could not be reimbursed for their efforts because of documentation issues, according to the GOP member.

While the conflict was eventually resolved, the Republican stressed the initial confusion, “That’s where some of this misinformation starts happening.”

Emotions are also running high, contributing to extreme reactions.

“People get upset. There’s other things going on. They’ve lost everything,” the GOP member said. “The FEMA people maybe need to be a little more patient with people who get a little crazy.”

Officials caution that overreactions based on false information can hamper relief efforts.

FEMA officials working in western North Carolina were directed to stop working and move to a different area due to a report about an “armed militia” that was “out hunting FEMA,” The Washington Post reported.

North Carolina state House Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican running for Congress in the state’s Charlotte-based 14th District, has been the subject of conspiracy theories himself — with one person on social media accusing him of preventing an out-of-state helicopter from providing assistance to devastated areas. Moore was not involved with the helicopter at all.

And despite the claim being corrected, Moore told North Carolina outlet WRAL that he still gets hateful messages such as, “You’re a monster. You’re allowing people to die.” 

“When I’m trying to make calls to help people and I’m having to deal with those, that’s not helpful,” Moore said.

A handful of other North Carolina Republicans have joined in pushing back on storm misinformation.

Sen. Thom Tillis has been especially vocal, calling the false claims “a distraction” that are “not helping the core of the effort right here.”

North Carolina state Sen. Kevin Corbin (R) wrote on Facebook: “Will you all help STOP this conspiracy theory junk that is floating all over Facebook and the internet about the floods in WNC.”

Other lawmakers hope their colleagues will follow Edwards’s lead.

“Honestly, just follow Chuck Edwards and Virginia Foxx’s lead,” a House Republican representing North Carolina told The Hill. “We partake in the telephone calls every day and supply support when we are able.”