Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida on Oct. 9, resulting in a myriad of power outages across the state, the death of at least 24 people and the destruction of homes throughout the region. This occurred just days after the catastrophe of Hurricane Helene resulted in an even larger death toll of over 130 civilians residing in the American South.
This type of natural disaster hits the U.S. Atlantic Coastline most frequently, and hurricane season generally spans from June to November. When La Niña — the cold phase of the southern oscillation cycle — comes, folks in the south can expect to prepare for storms. Given that the Atlantic region sees “seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes a year,” Americans should view these as very devastating yet very natural occurrences, right?
Unfortunately, some individuals refuse to see this as a natural disaster or tragedy — they’re framing it as a conspiracy.
While meteorologists were simply doing their jobs tracking the natural disasters, many far-right conspiracy theorists decided it would be useful to believe and spew false information regarding these disasters. Some of said “information” includes claiming meteorologists are steering and targeting hurricanes into red states.
Former President Donald Trump also had some things to say regarding the hurricane that were not necessarily true. At a rally in Michigan, he claimed that his opponent in the upcoming presidential general election, Vice President Kamala Harris, had funneled money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) into funding housing for undocumented immigrants. This ludicrous claim was very obviously not true and was not made out of any real concern for the victims of the hurricane, but instead out of disdain for undocumented people.
Some other notable Republican figures theorize that weather can be controlled. Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been condemned by both her peers and much of the general public for being a far-right conspiracy theorist, states in a post on social media platform X “they can control the weather,” referring to an unnamed group of people.
With how crazy it seems to imply that the weather can be controlled, it begs the question of whether Trump and Greene are genuine in their claims or if they are only spreading these lies due to the upcoming election.
Disinformation often looms before a large election, with 64% of election officials reporting that false information in 2022 made their jobs more difficult and the process more dangerous. The fact that notable right-wing figures are spreading and condoning these two theories poses a danger to our democratic process.
With the 2024 presidential election approaching and false allegations piling up against Harris and her administration, it also leads Americans to wonder whether the originators of these conspiracies are attempting to sway both public opinion and the vote in their favor.
When politicians such as Trump can say what they please, even if the claims are untrue, with no repercussions, nothing is stopping them from continuing. Trump has faced public backlash from news outlets for his claims regarding FEMA, but backlash does not pose threats to his re-election campaign.
It is unfair to meteorologists to face backlash for doing their jobs because a public servant decides to lie. It is not fair for Trump to make such serious, baseless accusations about his opponent. There are many things Republicans could choose to criticize Harris over — her policies, her prospective management of the economy or her other personal beliefs — but simply lying about her is unprofessional. The only thing people can hope for is that people do not take such serious claims at face value.
In the end, the government can’t control the weather, the Biden-Harris administration is not taking money from FEMA and all of these conspiracies are untrue. Listen to trusted and credible meteorologists for weather forecasting and predictions and them only. Exercise critical thinking and digital literacy when navigating online environments.
Rebecca Do is an Opinion Intern for the fall 2024 quarter. She can be reached at dort@uci.edu.
Edited by Trista Lara.