Transcript:
Last year, Hurricane Helene caused devastating floods in North Carolina.
And after the storm, rumors about the recovery effort spread online, including false information about how much relief money the government was providing.
Samantha Montano, an emergency management expert at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, says there are a few reasons why misinformation spreads after a disaster.
Montano: “Some people have lost power and so they’re not able to get onto their phone so they miss a lot of the information that’s being shared. … And then you also have this problem of kind of everybody sharing information, where it might not be clear who actually has accurate information, who’s an actual authority on the subject.”
To separate fact from fiction, Montano suggests people turn to local news and local officials.
Montano: “They are the ones who, because they are part of your community, are going to, in most cases, have the best sense of what is actually going on in the community.”
And for questions about FEMA or other government aid, she suggests checking the agency’s website directly if you can get online.
As climate change causes more extreme weather, it’s important to know how to stay well-informed if disaster strikes.
Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media
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