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FEMA launches website to debunk Maui wildfire rumors
Former agency officials say counterprogramming is critical in an era where misinformation is rampant.
CLIMATEWIRE | FEMA has little time for conspiracy theories. Especially when it's dealing with a major disaster.
So in the aftermath of the deadly Maui wildfires, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has launched a website that is designed to counter online hoaxes and other misinformation that FEMA officials say can discourage survivors from applying for federal disaster assistance.
FEMA has done this before; notably after Hurricane Harvey swamped Texas with deadly flooding in 2017.
But former FEMA officials say this kind of counterprogramming is critical in an era where misinformation — and disinformation — is rampant. For example, the Associated Press recently had to knock down the false claim that a “directed energy weapon” was responsible for the Maui wildfires, which killed at least 114 people.
“What we are concerned about are the rumors that could cause harm to people, lead to financial losses or keep them from getting help,” said Craig Fugate, who ran FEMA during the Obama administration.
FEMA published a similar website near the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the agency routinely takes this step after major disasters, said Jessica Widhalm, a former FEMA director of external affairs.
"It's not done for every single disaster that's ever declared, but it is done for a lot of the significant major disasters," added Widhalm, now the communications director at Hagerty Consulting, a disaster response firm.
One misconception that the latest FEMA website aims to address is the false claim that applying for federal assistance would allow the agency to confiscate a wildfire survivor's property.
"When you apply for disaster assistance a FEMA inspector may be sent to verify the damage on your home," the website notes. But "FEMA cannot seize your property or land."
Emily Kukulies, vice chair of the group Hawaii Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, said rumors and misinformation pose a real threat to recovery, as they can divert time and resources away from the work being done by emergency response officials.
Kukulies said she could feel every day “the tension coming from confusion” when talking with survivors in Maui.
“Media literacy in general is difficult in normal times," she said. "And at a time when people are stressed and grieving, it is especially mentally taxing to navigate.”
Jeremy Edwards, a FEMA spokesperson, acknowledged that same challenge. “Rumors can often spread quickly during any disaster."
Fugate, the former FEMA director, said that in 2017, many migrants refused to seek help after Harvey — due in part to the rumor that federal officials were sweeping shelters to arrest them, Fugate said. The FEMA website created at the time encourages all eligible residents to use shelters regardless of their citizenship status, emphasizing that related agencies are “not conducting immigration enforcement at relief sites.”
In addition to addressing misinformation, FEMA also needs to manage expectations, Fugate said.
Unrealistic is the public’s assumption that FEMA could cover nearly all of the damages from disasters, he said. In reality, there are limits to how much FEMA can do, Fugate said.
Even “members of Congress misunderstand federal policies,” Fugate said. Lawmakers “talk about what they want federal agencies to do, but it turns out they never authorized them or fund them.”
All FEMA disaster relief programs require the agency to review applications on a "case-by-case" basis, providing varying amounts of aid according to a survivor's income level and insurance coverage.
Past and present FEMA officials said confusion around competing federal disaster relief policies could be fueling some of the misinformation — especially around property seizure.
At a press conference on Thursday, Elizabeth Asche, a FEMA deputy director for the individual assistance division, said that it is “entirely possible” that the rumor on property confiscation is stemming from the confusion around the disaster loan offered by the Small Business Administration.
If survivors have insurance coverage or income levels higher than FEMA’s threshold, the agency is legally barred from providing free assistance and can only refer them to SBA, which offers disaster loans, Fugate said. The federal disaster loan needs to be fully repaid, and those who cannot pay it back could have their collaterals seized.
Dealing with rumors isn't a new fight for FEMA. After Hurricane Andrew swept through Florida in 1992, some people accused FEMA of hiding bodies in Everglades National Park, Fugate said.
"So this ain't new," he said. "Social media just makes it spread faster."
