North Carolina Republican Pleads To End Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories About Helene Disaster Recovery

A Republican senator in the North Carolina legislature has issued a public plea for people to stop spreading conspiracy theories about the disaster recovery efforts in areas ravaged by flooding from Hurricane Helene.

In a Thursday afternoon Facebook post, state Sen. Kevin Corbin, who represents the state’s westernmost area, asked his followers for a favor: “Will you all help STOP this conspiracy theory junk that is floating all over Facebook and the internet about the floods in WNC.”

Corbin listed several examples: “FEMA is stealing money from donations, body bags ordered but government has denied, bodies not being buried, government is controlling the weather from Antarctica, government is trying to get lithium from WNC, stacks of bodies left at hospitals, and on and on and on.”

Since making landfall last week and churning inland, the storm has killed more than 200 people across six states, with more than 70 of those deaths in Asheville and western North Carolina alone. But on social media, right-wing influencers have described an even more gruesome scenario, with a federal government that’s not just indifferent but actively hostile to lifesaving efforts by private citizens.

The country singer Jon Rich, for example, told his million-plus followers on X, formerly Twitter, that a friend in law enforcement reported to him they had already “used over 500 body bags, and there are bodies in trees, mud, cars, houses, everywhere,” and that the federal government had provided no support.

In fact, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and state National Guard troops have deployed in the storm-torn areas to perform search-and-rescue operations, restore electricity and distribute food and water. Storm victims are also eligible to apply for cash assistance.

A lesser-known influencer claimed in a viral post on X the storm suspiciously tracked inland and “took out a dam protecting rare quartz and lithium mines and now FEMA is stealing donations, rescue teams are being denied access, drones aren’t allowed to fly over, and the $ residents get went to illegals.” (The National Weather Service correctly predicted the storm would devastate western North Carolina.)

Another viral post claimed the storm was a “land grab” by the federal government. “People are being told they no longer own their homes and have to vacate immediately,” wrote X user @theKanehB. “No more help going in by civilians or they will be arrested.”

Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) suggested in one post on Thursday that the storm’s track suspiciously aligned with voting patterns, as though it could hurt Republicans in the upcoming presidential election.

“Yes they can control the weather,” Greene wrote in a followup. “It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.

Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, claimed Monday that government officials were “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas” and that the Joe Biden administration spent down FEMA funds on housing for undocumented immigrants. The White House on Friday called it a lie.

“Unfortunately, our country has seen the dangerous consequences of peddling falsehoods,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in an email to reporters. “In fact, disinformation of this kind can discourage people from seeking critical assistance when they need it most. It is paramount that every leader, whatever their political beliefs, stops spreading this poison.”

State Sen. Corbin said in his Facebook post that FEMA was on the scene, as were National Guard soldiers and power company workers. And he suggested that conspiracy theories have been harmful since they have taken up lawmakers’ time as they try to coordinate relief.

“Please don’t let these crazy stories consume you or have you continually contact your elected officials to see if they are true,” Corbin wrote, adding that one of his senate colleagues had received 15 calls on Thursday asking him to stop a variety of nefarious plots. “I’m growing a bit weary of intentional distractions from the main job …. which is to help our citizens in need.”