Officials in Unicoi County have another task to deal with besides disaster recovery: combatting misinformation. (Photo: Federal Emergency Management Agency Facebook)
After four years on the job as Unicoi County’s Emergency Management Agency Director, Jimmy Erwin has had to add one more responsibility to an already broad roster of duties involved in preparing for and responding to disaster: dispelling misinformation.
“There was a lot of posts on social media that TEMA and FEMA was confiscating donated goods,” Erwin said Monday, stressing these rumors were false.
“There was no truth to any of that, not in Unicoi County or no other county,” he said. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are on the ground in Unicoi County. “They have been an asset,” he said.
Other disaster relief officials in hard-hit northeast Tennessee have delivered similar messages in recent days. In Washington County, county officials issued an alert warning that “wild, inaccurate rumors are floating around on social media!” In Cocke County, water utility officials have warned against false rumors about their efforts to restore services. Both TEMA and FEMA have issued statements and fact checks in an effort to dispel false rumors.
Debunking persistent falsehoods, amplified on social media and by some elected officials, have added to the already enormous relief and recovery work that lies ahead for northeast Tennessee counties impacted by Hurricane Helene, local officials and aid workers said.
Sixteen people have been confirmed dead in Tennessee as of Tuesday, a toll that includes the bodies of three North Carolina residents and the remains of an already deceased individual recovered in a casket that floated away. Nine individuals remain unaccounted for.
A post from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency on its Facebook page attempting to dispel misinformation.
Meanwhile, FEMA is processing more than 4,500 registrations for aid and has thus far approved an initial $3.1 million in funding to survivors, according to state officials.
Multi-agency resource centers to apply for aid have been set up in Elizabethton and Jonesborough, with more centers expected in the coming days. Hotlines to ask for help in mucking out homes, linking to mental health services and applying for FEMA assistance have been established.
On Facebook and X, TikTok and Threads, people continue to shared false information that federal and state disaster workers are confiscating first aid kits, water, food supplies and monetary donations intended for disaster victims.
“FEMA is part of the cabal,” one poster wrote on Facebook Monday, urging fellow Tennesseans to avoid disaster relief officials at all costs. “They sit in the finest hotels having cocktails and eating steaks while confiscating supplies” wrote another. Other posts have questioned why offers of aid and volunteers have been turned down, suggesting there is profit to be made in rebuffing community support in favor of profit-driven contracts with private vendors.
In Unicoi County, some of the rumors are based on misunderstanding of how officials are trying to efficiently streamline relief efforts, local officials said.
Unicoi High School, set up to take donations in the immediate aftermath of the flood, is now turning away donations, according to John English, Unicoi County Director of Schools.
That’s because the high school is full of clothes, diapers, toiletries and a host of other donations and unable to take more in — while it remains open to anyone in need of the collected supplies. The Bristol Motor Speedway has since opened up a regional hub to take in contributions that can be earmarked for residents of specific counties.
The Red Cross has similarly turned down those who showed up to volunteer with their efforts. For safety reasons, the organization requires all of its volunteers to undergo a background check and training, a statement from the organization said.
Meanwhile, social media rumors that FEMA workers are going door to door to collect cash and donations have prompted notices from law enforcement and disaster officials: FEMA does not go door to door to solicit contributions. Anyone claiming to be with FEMA asking for donations should be reported to police, Erwin said. Thus far, the county hasn’t received a single report.
Gov. Bill Lee has joined local officials in calling out the rumors, telling the Johnson City Press that the “we don’t need this kind of distraction now.”
Other elected officials have issued mixed messages.
“At least 200 lives taken,” Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn wrote on X Thursday. “6 states ravaged by flooding and destruction. Thousands of homes and businesses taken from hardworking families. Yet, the Biden-Harris admin siphoned $1B in FEMA funds for illegals. This should outrage every American.”
The message echoes false statements by former President Donald Trump that FEMA funding is not being made available to disaster victims or has been previously diverted to undocumented immigrants.
By Tuesday, Blackburn was instead directing disaster victims to apply for FEMA and a host of other relief programs the federal government is making available to residents and business owners, in a tweet linking to instructions on how to apply.
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