As emergency teams work to help people who have suffered severe losses in the wake of Hurricane Helene, the relief effort has been accompanied by a wave of misinformation, amplified by an existential choice just a month away.

The upcoming election has led to a rise in misinformation, which is a common thread following most major news events. Those claims have found believers — or at least opportunistic followers — among top Republicans, who are now linking an unprecedented disaster to issues like immigration.

“There is no question that this level of falsehood would not be spread without an election in a month,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council.

The falsehoods began quickly and came from above. Donald Trump, freshly landed in Georgia on Monday to see the storm’s devastation, claimed that the state’s governor, Brian Kemp, had been unable to reach Joe Biden to talk about disaster relief. Kemp had said earlier in the day that he had spoken to the president, who offered the state any help it needed and said to call him directly.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) launched a website this week to squash the rumor mill it faces – a sign of the increasing spread of myths. The American Red Cross posted on social media to clear up various falsehoods about its work. Members of Congress and state emergency management agencies have issued statements insisting they are working around the clock to provide disaster relief. Elected officials serving the area have asked voters not to spread rumors and instead help each other.

Kevin Corbin, a Republican senator from North Carolina, posted a request on Facebook to his followers: “Friends, can I ask you for a small favor?” Will you all help STOP this conspiracy theory crap that is all over Facebook and… is spread on the internet about the floods?”

The claims that the government controls the weather, that the government has refused to order more body bags – these are all “garbage,” he said, and local lawmakers are being inundated with questions about these conspiracies. “It’s just a distraction for people trying to do their jobs. Folks, this is a catastrophic event that this country has never known about.”

On Fema’s rumors page, the agency notes that it is not confiscating property or donations, soliciting cash donations, or capping recovery funds at $750 per person – all claims that have been circulating online and, in some cases, amplified by right-wing media and Republicans become politicians.

“There are many dangerous, misleading rumors circulating about Helene’s response that can actively prevent survivors from receiving help,” said a Fema spokeswoman, Jaclyn Rothenberg. “Our top priority is to ensure disaster relief reaches people in need.”

Glenn Jacobs, the Republican mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, said that to his knowledge no one had confiscated supplies. “Please stop spreading these rumors as they are counteracting response efforts,” he said. “Maybe if everyone could put their hate aside for a while and help out, that would be great.”

Elon Musk, the owner of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, responded: “No one is closing airspace and the FAA is not blocking legitimate rescue and recovery flights. “If you run into a problem, call me.”

An AI-generated image of a young girl holding a puppy and looking devastated while sitting in a boat in the rain, seemingly fleeing the floodwaters, is spreading widely. It was rightly labeled as AI-generated, but some didn’t seem to care.

“This image is seared into my mind,” Amy Kremer, an RNC national committeewoman from Georgia, posted on It Doesn’t Matter, saying it was “emblematic” of the reality people are facing.

A myth reinforced in recent days is that Fema is out of money because it spent money on migrants instead – a claim that Trump and many of his allies have amplified. The story was on the cover of the New York Post.

Fema is still out of money. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said earlier this week that the agency will not have enough money for the rest of the hurricane season given the increase in extreme weather events due to the climate crisis. “With the money we have, we can meet urgent needs” for Helene.

However, the migrant lawsuit is unrelated to Fema’s budget concerns. A separate fund, the Shelter and Services Program, administered by Fema as directed by Congress, provides reimbursements to local governments as they deal with increased costs associated with the influx of migrants, Reichlin-Melnick said. No disaster relief funds are needed. This fund was launched in 2019 under the Trump administration.

Reichlin-Melnick said this was a “completely false claim” that had become more common in recent days “because we are in a time of conspiracy thinking and migrants are the enemy for many on the right.”

“The response is taking time because of these very real logistical issues caused by the geography of the region and the severity of the damage,” he said. “And the federal government hasn’t been able to snap its fingers and fix things overnight… And I think you’ve seen a number of politicians mistakenly seize on this to essentially link migrants to the hurricane.” bring.”

Leaving aside the falsehoods that have at least some bearing on reality, there have been suggestions that the hurricane was somehow planned or staged, perhaps in connection with the upcoming elections. This far-right fringe idea remained largely in the darker corners of the conspiratorial internet until Friday.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a sitting congresswoman, tweeted Friday: “Yes, they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for someone to lie and say it’s not possible.” She didn’t specify who “they” meant. She had previously tweeted a map of areas devastated by the hurricane, overlaid with an election map to show how those areas voted.

There are many real issues for people affected by Helene, including voting, and a disaster so close to the election can certainly play a role in voter turnout and voting access. Local election officials are working to ensure people can vote even if they have lost their ID or mailed ballots.

“We don’t have all the answers right now,” Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, told media this week. “But we’re working diligently to figure it out.”