Dear Reader,

At one time, the weather was the safe space of conversation starters. But even that topic has now become politicized–and even dangerous.

This week, employees of the Federal Emergency Management Administration and other emergency responders were targeted with threats and harassment as they continued to help in recovery efforts from the devastation of Hurricane Helene.

The danger in North Carolina grew so severe over the weekend that FEMA told some recovery crews to stand down because of reports that National Guard troops “had come across x2 trucks of armed militia saying they were out hunting FEMA.” Rescuers resumed operations after the rumor was debunked.

Distrust of the federal government is nothing new. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan famously said, “I’ve always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.” But threats of physical harm against federal workers is an alarming new phase of political violence. And in the long run, this trend is likely to make our government less effective.

The threats and harassment seem to be driven in part by disinformation spewed by online trolls. False claims have been rampant on social media, accusing the Biden Administration of seizing property, diverting funds to support undocumented immigrants, and turning away volunteers.

Some prominent figures have exploited the situation. Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed that President Joe Biden was refusing to provide assistance to people who live in “Republican areas.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga), claimed in an online post, “They can control the weather.” In other posts, she suggested that majority Republican states were being deliberately targeted with hurricanes. When ridiculed for this claim, she posted, “anyone who says they don’t [control the weather], or makes fun of this, is lying to you.”

As a result of the falsehoods, 911 operators have been inundated with calls about the rumors, tying up lines that could otherwise be used to seek help. FEMA also expended resources when it felt the need to post a page on its website debunking false claims, an act that social media trolls called a “cover-up.”

In fact, FEMA has approved almost $30 million in assistance for victims of Hurricane Helene and has provided housing for approximately 1,700 people. The federal response includes more than 700 FEMA employees and 1,000 National Guard personnel, who continue to work on rescue and recovery operations in North Carolina.

According to the non-profit Institute for Strategic Dialogue, “the situation exemplifies a wider trend: increasingly, a broad collection of conspiracy groups, extremist movements, political and commercial interests, and at times hostile states, coalesce around crises to further their agendas through online falsehoods, division and hate. They exploit social media moderation failures, gaming their algorithmic systems, and often produce dangerous real-world effects.” A significant percentage of the posts contained “overt anti-semitic hate,” including abuse of Jewish public officials in North Carolina and Washington leading the response.

Most concerning about the research group’s findings was that disinformation has “spawned credible threats and incitement to violence directed at the federal government–this includes calls to send militias to face down FEMA for the perceived denial of aid and that individuals would ‘shoot’ FEMA officials and the agency’s emergency responders.”

These posts are having real world consequences by instilling fear and interrupting recovery efforts. As I know from my own work in government, crisis response requires clear lines of communication. Falsehoods only make the job more difficult. What’s more, lies that endanger the lives of responders will cause some to conclude that the risk is not worth the modest pay they receive for public service, even the important work of rescuing hurricane victims.

This climate of mutual distrust supports the goals of hostile foreign adversaries who seek to sow discord in American society, leaving our country distracted from addressing external threats by spinning our wheels to address internal conflicts, even those that are fabricated. Our ability to lead on the world stage or even to respond to external threats is diminished when we are at virtual war with ourselves. The inevitable Congressional hearings that follow any crisis contribute to the burden on emergency responders, who have to worry that every decision will be second-guessed. That means any threat of militia attacks, no matter how spurious it may seem, must be taken seriously, lest the decision-maker turn out to have been wrong and left to face the wrath of politicians seeking to score points.

The experience of Hurricane Helene should be a wake-up call for Americans who care about protecting our fellow citizens and our national security. We can traffic in disinformation or we can band together to defeat it.

As a first step, we can improve our own media literacy so that we are not fooled by false claims online. Second, we should use our power as consumers to demand that social media platforms provide sufficient content moderation and community comment features to debunk false claims online. And third, we can use our power as voters to elect only officials who tell us the truth during an emergency and remove from office those who stoke division through self-serving lies. We need leaders who will unite us around a common purpose during a crisis so that government employees can respond to emergencies unencumbered by false claims about their work and motives.

And maybe then we can get back to talking about the weather.

Stay Informed,

Barb