Trump, a category 5 moron. Trump Flubs His Hurricane History, Oddly Says He’s ‘Never Heard a Category 5 Actually Coming Onto Land’ https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trum...heard-a-category-5-actually-coming-onto-land/
J.D. Vance did explain a little in an interview that they (he) had the "right" to create stories to bring attention to other issues (e.g. immigration). The creepy aspect...Vance had this psychotic smile on his face when he made that comment..like one of those people from the horror movie SMILE. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ae91QlzgYtg wrbtrader
It's amazing the bullshiat the MAGA crowd is shoveling. No, FEMA Didn't Say It Would Execute 70K-80K People Online users posted videos in October 2024 featuring reactions to an audio clip that, in reality, had nothing to do with the U.S. government agency. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fema-execute-evacutate-people/
The Far Right’s Newest, Dumbest Trick to Spread Misinformation on X When a guy you know texts you, it has to be real. https://slate.com/technology/2024/1...ane-helene-fema-misinformation-x-twitter.html Charlie Kirk seemed outraged. Flooding from Hurricane Helene had ravaged Asheville, North Carolina, and the surrounding area, leaving at least 72 people in Buncombe County dead. But what appeared to most upset the right-wing influencer was a text message he had received, supposedly from an unnamed acquaintance, that alleged that Federal Emergency Management Agency workers were taking a laissez-faire attitude on disaster relief. “Charlie—my sources in [western North Carolina] tell me that personnel from FEMA are being housed at one of the nicest hotels and they work only until 5 pm,” read the alleged text, which Kirk tweeted Friday to his 3.5 million followers on X. “And they will not work weekends. My folks are being told if they don’t contact them by 5 pm today, they will have to wait until Monday.” “Is this true @FEMA?” Kirk added. “Americans are dying but FEMA workers are treating their job like it’s a 9-5 government clock punching gig?!?” Slate reached out to FEMA, which has been responding to a deluge of conspiracy theories from former President Donald Trump and others in recent days about these claims. The agency has not yet gotten back to us, but it’s a bit busy. Or we could just trust some guy texting Charlie Kirk. This tweet format has become conspicuously popular on the redpilled internet. The formula is simple: 1) Post a screenshot of a supposedly genuine text message, 2) express outrage, 3) ask if it’s true without really caring whether it is, and 4) do no further investigation into the matter. It’s a newfangled incarnation of a classic, the chain email. Pass it along or else no one will know the “truth.” Elon Musk is a fan of the format and has been tweeting incessantly about FEMA over the past week. “Just received this note from a SpaceX engineer helping on the ground in North Carolina,” Musk posted Friday. The alleged note, which doesn’t include even a screenshot of a text or email, says that FEMA is blocking shipments into Asheville, seizing goods, and claiming them as its own. “It’s very real and scary how much they have taken control to stop people helping,” the engineer supposedly said. “We are blocked now on the shipments of new starlinks coming in until we get an escort from the fire dept. but that may not be enough.” The allegation: FEMA is preventing Elon Musk’s Starlink systems from helping people gain internet access. On its website, the agency notes that rumors abound about its seizing supplies and turning away donations: “FEMA does not take donations and/or food from survivors or voluntary organizations. Donations of food, water, or other goods are handled by voluntary agencies who specialize in storing, sorting, cleaning, and distributing donated items.” This Twitter outrage format is also being used to spread election misinformation. Venture capital investor Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital, tweeted that an unnamed friend of his in California once found a vacant home with 600 ballots stuffed inside the mailbox. “How is this possible?” Maguire asked. He went on to suggest that antifa might have been registering hundreds of people to vote using a single address. (Why would Democrats need to rig votes in the safe-blue state of California? The mystery continues.) Right-wing media criticism rests on a unifying idea that journalists lie, make things up, and push narratives regardless of their veracity. In the real world, professional journalists employed at mainstream news outlets are required to verify information. They cannot just accept the text messages of unnamed individuals and proclaim their truth—or credulously ask “Is this true?”—as a way of laundering inflammatory bullshit to the masses. To many on the right, reporters are lying, but the random dudes texting Charlie Kirk and Elon Musk are telling the truth. These mystery text messages from unnamed senders can easily be faked, while journalists are fired, disgraced, and often driven into a different industry for concocting false stories—and rightfully so. But there are no real consequences for the influencers who engage in fearmongering and peddle lies. Of course, they don’t really care what’s true and what’s not. No one serious about facts would receive a text message of dubious veracity and blast it out to millions to ascertain its accuracy. They don’t care if it’s true—they just want you to think it is.
Some updates from North Carolina hurricane recovery efforts - There are locations in the mountains where the water plants have been washed away where they will need to ship in water for months. Due to this there are some locations in the mountains who are asking that organizations to not send more water because they have enough for the short-term and no place to store it. Other locations are asking for more water as a priority. Locally we see this reflected in the work of charity and church organizations which are shipping donated water to different locations based on need. The NC mountains are down to 75,000 customers without power -- thanks to linemen from all over who worked endless hours to restore electricity for people. Shortly many of the resources in our mountains will need to be diverted to help Florida. This includes linemen, military, federal resources and private organizations. They had a power industry expert on TV recently who stated that N.C. has reached to the point of diminishing returns for restoring power quickly in some mountain areas --- typically areas which are remote and it may take weeks to string new wire once roads are repaired so they are reachable. Effectively when the linemen are moved to Florida after Milton they can quickly restore power to much larger numbers of people for the amount of time & effort put into restoration. Hence we are already seeing power trucks driving south and staging in Georgia.
'It was hurtful': NC first responder reacts to false Helene information on social media North Carolina communities already struggling with the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene are facing waves of misinformation. https://www.wral.com/story/it-was-h...-helene-information-on-social-media/21665323/
There are even some Republicans sick of the misinformation being spread by their own party members. Republicans in Congress call out hurricane misinformation coming from within their own party https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/09/politics/republicans-congress-hurricane-misinformation?cid=ios_app Republicans are fighting a war against misinformation to keep their constituents safe as they brace for Hurricane Milton to make landfall in Florida, including being willing to point the finger at members of their own party — and their presidential nominee. The Category 4 stormis forecast to touch down overnight Wednesday — even while across the South residents continue to recover from Hurricane Helene — Republicans in the path of the hurricanes have come out forcefully against those in their own party pushing debunked conspiracy theories which could put people in danger. Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida called out Georgia firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Wednesday telling her to get her “head examined” for suggesting someone is “controlling the weather.” Last week, Greene, without specifying who “they” is, posted, “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.” Gimenez, on CNN’s “This Morning” with Kasie Hunt, added, “There’s no place for misinformation, especially when it’s on purpose, at times like this.” Before joining Congress, Gimenez was a career firefighter-paramedic and managed natural disasters as the former Mayor of Miami-Dade County. Greene has stood by her comments, posting a meme and link to a Gateway Pundit article she says backs up her claims. Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards, who represents storm-ravaged western North Carolina and has been on the ground assisting with recovery efforts, felt compelled to send a letter to his community fact checking a number of the outlandish conspiracy theories. “Amidst all of the support, we have also seen an uptick in untrustworthy sources trying to spark chaos by sharing hoaxes, conspiracy theories, and hearsay about hurricane response efforts across our mountains,” he wrote in the letter. “I’m here to dispel the outrageous rumors that have been circulated online.” “Nobody can control the weather,” Edwards stated, appearing to refer to his colleague Greene’s post on X. Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah also attacked former President Donald Trump for spreading disinformation, including about FEMA. “Former President Trump told us that the people in Springfield are eating dogs and cats, alright? He likewise said that FEMA money, our emergency money, instead of helping the people that are being hit by the hurricane is being used to help illegals,” he said at an event in Utah earlier this week. “He just makes it up. So he is able to spew enough disinformation that the Chinese must be smiling,” added Romney. “When it comes to a holiday from the truth, he’s taken the longest vacation.” Trump, who has repeated baseless lies and distortions about the federal response, falsely claimed money earmarked for disaster aid has been given to migrants. At a campaign rally in Michigan on Thursday, Trump falsely claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris “spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants, many of whom should not be in our country.” He added in an election-related conspiracy theory, saying, “They stole the FEMA money, just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them this season.” The Biden administration has been outspoken against Trump for his comments, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN that there is a “massive misinformation problem, and this is something that actively harms the ability of responders to do their job.” On Wednesday, Biden critcized Trump and Greene in public remarks for spreading misinformation – specifically calling out Trump for leading the “onslaught of lies” and Greene for making “bizarre” claims. “Saying the money is needed for this crisis is being diverted to migrants. What a ridiculous thing to say. It’s not true,” Biden said. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who has endorsed the former president, broke from Trump, debunking a number of specific claims he has repeatedly fueled. “We have to stay focused on rescue operations, recovery operations, clearing operations, and we don’t need any of these distractions on the ground,” Tillis said Sunday on CBS’ “Face The Nation.” “It’s at the expense of the hard-working first responders and people that are just trying to recover their lives.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who challenged Trump in this cycle’s Republican presidential primary, also warned residents in the path of a hurricane to ignore online misinformation.