Disinformation Stirred by Musk and Trump Adds Strain to Hurricane Recovery
- Democrats, local Republicans seek to rebut viral conspiracies
- Bogus claims lead to real-world peril, extremism experts say
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State and federal officials, already grappling with back-to-back hurricanes that have killed hundreds across the Southeast, are now contending with another disaster-related threat: disinformation over their relief efforts and the cause of the storm.
Conspiracy theories and hate speech targeting the government’s storm response erupted across social media — especially on X — after Hurricane Helene devastated the region, with former President Donald Trump and X owner Elon Musk amplifying unverified allegations. Now, after Hurricane Milton struck Florida late Wednesday, US officials have made it part of their strategy to rebut those falsehoods while also probing whether foreign actors share some of the blame.