Joseph Zambon
Representative Nicholas Langworthy, representing New York’s 23rd Congressional District in Western New York and the Southern Tier, is spreading disinformation similar to Russian and Chinese disinformation networks regarding Hurricane Helene and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) efforts to assist its victims. Langworthy has repeated the fallacious claim that FEMA was out of funds to help victims of Hurricane Helene because the agency had spent its money on undocumented immigrants.
To quote Langworthy from his Facebook page, “FEMA is out of money for Hurricane Helene victims because the Biden-Harris Administration spent over $1.4 billion to accommodate illegal immigrants brought here by the border crisis they created. Not one penny should be going to non-citizens who broke our laws while American citizens are suffering. This is unconscionable.“
Langworthy’s statement and similar statements from his fellow Republicans are false.
Former President Trump falsely claimed that, “…the Biden administration and North Carolina’s Democratic governor were ‘going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.’” Salon noted that Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) worked with Russian trolls to disparage the government’s disaster response. (Remember 1950’s McCarthyism when Republicans like Roy Cohn, Trump’s mentor, ruined the lives of people who helped the “Commies”? Now Republicans are working hand in glove with Russian Communists.) Marjorie Taylor Green, Republican Congressman from Georgia, took it much farther and crazier in explaining this year’s numerous hurricanes. She wrote on X, “Yes, they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”
Controlling the weather—beyond cloud seeding to encourage rain—is impossible, and I’m not lying.
Langworthy is Spreading Russian and Chinese Disinformation
Disinformation about the government’s response to Hurricane Helene includes: (1) FEMA would only pay victims $750; (2) people accepting the money would have their land seized; (3) the government would seize the lithium mines in Western North Carolina, and (4) FEMA is spending disaster recovery funds on sheltering immigrants at the border.
None of these statements are true, but Republicans and foreign disinformation networks are spreading these falsehoods.
Many individuals and institutions have refuted the falsehoods. For example,
From PBS, “Russia has helped amplify and spread false and misleading internet claims about recent hurricanes in the United States and the federal government’s response…claims about the storms include fake images created using artificial intelligence, such as a photo depicting scenes of devastating flooding at Disney World that never happened…Russia’s disinformation seems designed to support Trump.”
False images of Disneyworld!! Is nothing sacred?
From CNN, “Russian, Chinese and Cuban operatives all spread misinformation about US government hurricane relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton…”
Republican Governors Praise FEMA Relief Efforts
FEMA has not deprived Hurricane Helene or Hurricane Milton victims of relief aid as Langworthy, Russian, and Chinese disinformation networks falsely assert.
At a press conference, Republican Governor McMaster was asked, “What has been the ongoing federal assistance to South Carolina?” Governor McMaster’s answer, “It has been superb…he [President Biden] said whatever we need to let him know..” In Georgia, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp expressed appreciation for the federal government’s response to Hurricane Helene, contradicting the comments of former President Trump, who claimed that Kemp had trouble reaching President Biden. “He [President Biden] just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?“ “And I told him, you know, we got what we need…He offered that if there’s other things we need, just to call him directly…we’ve had FEMA embedded with us since, you know, a day or two before the storm hit.”
FEMA Aid to Victims of Hurricane Helene
The infographic below is from the FEMA website. It provides an update on the assistance offered to victims of Hurricane Helene as of October 25th, one month after the disaster struck.
The infographic shows that FEMA has provided $524 million in public assistance, $883 million in individual assistance, and the rest. And from the FEMA website, “…we’ve deployed more than 5,000 personnel to support affected areas. …set up at Disaster Recovery Centers… provide survivors in-person help with disaster assistance applications. FEMA personnel are also walking door-to-door, offering to answer questions and to help with the FEMA application process.“
That sounds pretty good.
Disinformation Spread by Langworthy and Foreign Governments Endangers Relief Workers
Statements like those made by Langworthy, “FEMA is out of money for Hurricane Helene victims because the Biden-Harris Administration spent over $1.4 billion to accommodate illegal immigrants …” which echo the false claims pushed out by Russian and Chinese disinformation centers, inspire violence and jeopardize the safety of FEMA workers.
This is real. In Tennessee, “There were some tense moments on Saturday when volunteers witnessed an armed group of people confronting and threatening FEMA workers in the Elk Mills community of Carter County in Tennessee.“
In North Carolina, a man was arrested for allegedly threatening FEMA employees who were responding to Hurricane Helene’s disaster. The threat forced FEMA to suspend door-to-door assistance, and to limit its efforts to operating from assistance centers only.
Disinformation such as Langworthy’s is endangering the safety of relief workers and obstructing delivery of the aid that Helene victims urgently need.