A Tennessee mayor on Friday discredited rumors about the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene in the Southeast, calling them "counterproductive."
In a post on X, Glenn Jacobs, the Republican mayor of Knox County, Tenn., wrote: "Two things: 1) To my knowledge, FEMA, TEMA, nor anyone else is confiscating supplies. Please quit spreading those rumors as they are counterproductive to response efforts."
"2) If everyone could maybe please put aside the hate for a bit and pitch in to help, that would be great," he added.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday told reporters that FEMA can meet immediate needs but does not have enough funding to make it through the hurricane season.
The agency is being stretched as it works with states to assess damage from Hurricane Helene and delivers meals, water, generators and other critical supplies. The storm struck Florida last week, then plowed through several states in the Southeast, flooding towns and killing more than 230 people.
Following Mayorkas' comments, rumors began to swirl online that the federal agency is pocketing donations meant for Hurricane Helene victims and blocking volunteers from delivering much-needed supplies.
It also comes after former President Donald Trump blasted the Biden-Harris administration’s response to the storm when he claimed that FEMA is short on funds because it spent all its disaster relief money on illegal aliens.
On Friday, the White House pushed back on Trump’s claims, slamming Republican leaders for "using Hurricane Helene to lie and divide us."
In an effort to combat misinformation, FEMA has launched a "rumor response" page, advising members of the public to find and share information from trusted sources and discourage others from sharing information from unverified sources. The page also seeks to dispel the rumors by addressing widely-circulated claims with factual information.
"FEMA does not take donations and/or food from survivors or voluntary organizations," one rumor rebuttal reads. "Donations of food, water, or other goods are handled by voluntary agencies who specialize in storing, sorting, cleaning, and distributing donated items. FEMA does not conduct vehicle stops or handle road closures with armed guards — those are done by local law enforcement."
Reaction to Jacobs’ post was mixed, with some praising the mayor for his attempt to stop the spread of the so-called rumors and others disputing his assessment of the situation.
"These rumors are divisive, hyper-partisan, and disgusting," Paddy O’Mugwump said. "Spreading like wildfire too, including by some prominent right-wingers."
Veritas est Lux asked, "Because you know better than the people on the ground?"
"Well TEMA *DID* tell people (tweets still up) NOT to self-deploy and also *DID* tell people not to donate anything but money, AND ONLY GIVE MONEY TO THEM (they deleted that.)," Tickerguy wrote.
"Sorry, they don't get a do-over on this Glenn when people are literally dying for lack of drinking water."