Many households have turned to crowdfunding for repairs but worry that the crush of disinformation will hamper their appeals for help.
In the days and weeks after hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed the Southeast, communities are looking to crowdfund for repairs as conspiracy theories dog efforts to rebuild.
Since the storms hit, the Biden administration has sought to counter false accusations that it is diverting federal relief funds to immigrants, a claim advanced by some Republican politicians, including former President Donald Trump.
A flurry of dubious pleas for crowdfunding — including a viral TikTok video by a man accusing the Federal Emergency Management Agency of evicting him from his Asheville, North Carolina, business — have added to the swirl of false claims, threatening to sap public focus from those who actually need help.
Is there a “thoughts and prayers” button on the donation site? (I forget which platform, but there actually was such a button on one of them).
I have no sympathy whatsoever for those spreading these conspiracy theories against those who are trying to help and then turn around and beg for money.