• Officials are urging people to stop spreading misinformation amid Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.
• Both Republicans and Democrats have called out misinformation and false rumors.
• Donald Trump and Elon Musk have amplified false claims.

As rescue workers respond to the destruction in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, government officials on both sides of the aisle are calling for a misinformation cease-fire.

Since the hurricane made landfall in Florida and swept up to the Carolinas, the storm itself has been swept up in another powerful force: American politics in a presidential election year.

Some social media users are sharing unsubstantiated claims, some accompanied by fake AI-generated photos, criticizing the response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the government’s disaster relief group, and, by extension, the administration of President Joe Biden.

“It’s not necessarily unusual for emergency situations to be breeding grounds for mis- and disinformation, but I do think we’ve seen a particularly large amount of false claims proliferating at this time,” Mekela Panditharatne, a senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit policy institute at New York University’s School of Law, told Business Insider. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it’s so close to a very consequential national election.”

Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X and a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, has posted on his social media network saying that “FEMA is both failing to help AND won’t let others help” and has reposted similar claims from others.

Musk shared another claim that Asheville, North Carolina’s airspace had been closed to block recovery efforts, prompting a fact-check from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who said the Federal Aviation Administration was not shutting down the airspace. Buttigieg told Musk to call him with any issues, and after they spoke on the phone, Musk posted that flights were underway and thanked Buttigieg.

Trump has seized on the disaster to criticize the Biden administration and, by extension, his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, saying the Biden administration “stole the FEMA money” and “spent it all on illegal migrants,” the Washington Post reported.

His comments came after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said FEMA would need more money from Congress to get it through the rest of hurricane season.

A Washington Post investigation found no evidence that the Biden administration used disaster relief funds on the migrant crisis. However, amid hurricane season in 2019, Trump himself approved using $155 million in disaster relief funds for immigration detention at the border, the Post reported.

Bipartisan calls to stop spreading ‘junk’ information

Following the spike in false rumors, FEMA created a searchable fact-checking page to tackle misinformation about the relief efforts. In North Carolina, the Department of Public Safety also shared a fact-check on social media, which Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has reposted.

Republicans have also joined the fight against the false information. Kevin Corbin, a Republican member of the North Carolina Senate, issued a plea on Facebook for people to stop spreading “conspiracy theory junk.” He listed bizarre claims that he said he and other officials have heard, ranging from accusations that “FEMA is stealing money from donations” to the “government is controlling the weather from Antarctica.”

“It is just a distraction to people trying to do their job,” Corbin wrote.

US Sen. Thom Tillis, also a Republican, echoed Corbin’s comments on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on CBS News on Sunday. He said many of the claims are “not even from people on the ground” and complicate rescue and recovery operations.

“It’s at the expense of the hard-working first responders and people that are just trying to recover their life,” Tillis said. “Quite honestly, most of what I’ve seen out there is a distraction and not helping the core of the effort right here, which is to save lives and start rebuilding.”

Panditharatne told BI that the spread of misinformation can “dissuade people from seeking the assistance that they need in this time of crisis.”

“It’s perfectly legitimate to express an opinion or criticize the sufficiency of a response, but a number of the claims that we are seeing, particularly from high profile actors and politicians, are baseless, and they’re contradicting verifiable facts or unsubstantiated by evidence,” she said. “Where that is the case, I think it can divert public information and resources and demoralize officials on the ground.”

In a crisis, there may be gaps in available information, creating a vacuum for misinformation to “flood in to fill the void,” Panditharatne said. However, she added that’s not an excuse.

“I think anyone like Musk, who has a significant influence over the information ecosystem, should feel a sense of responsibility to promote information that doesn’t undermine people’s ability to access the aid that they need or undermine officials’ response to a crisis,” she said.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for X also did not immediately respond.

As a highly regarded freshman class prepares to take the stage in the 2025 college season, top-end prospects like Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey seem to be the prizes in the upcoming draft. This is completely understandable, as they appear to have two of the highest upsides in this draft. However, North Carolina’s Drake Powell may be closer to the top than people realize. While he is a bit more raw than other projected top-five picks, he possesses the two-way upside to become one of the more valuable players available.

Powell stands out defensively, combining a strong and lengthy frame with elite athleticism, both vertically and laterally. He excels at jumping passing lanes after making off-ball reads that feel far more developed than those of a typical high school standout. His athleticism is also evident when defending the rim, whether through weak-side help or open-court chase-downs, which he times perfectly. The consistency of these chase-down blocks is eye-catching; he seems to float in the air and demolishes shot attempts with one or both hands. His on-ball defense is extremely promising as well; he uses his high motor, quick feet and physicality to stay with a wide range of opponents, making them noticeably uncomfortable.

The offensive side of the ball is where the raw aspects of his game can stand out at times. Starting with his shooting, Powell has been streaky throughout his high school career. Despite this inconsistency, his year-to-year improvements are very noticeable, pointing to his long-term potential and showcasing his elite work ethic. Young prospects who clearly acknowledge their weaknesses and are willing to work on improvements early are extremely encouraging, and Powell seems like a great example of this. He will play his freshman season with a loaded North Carolina roster, which raises questions about how much he will be used and what type of role he will fill in his first season. This may leave his draft range somewhat uncertain, possibly leading to him being selected based purely on potential. Regardless of how productive he is throughout his freshman year, Powell’s physical impact makes him comparable to versatile NBA defenders with impressive athleticism, like Houston’s Tari Eason.

He is a good driver and can finish with finesse or powerful dunks after penetrating the lane. One standout tool is his level of explosiveness when attacking from the triple threat. He can blow past defenders with his first step after lulling them to sleep with patient pivots along the perimeter. He will need to continue improving how quickly he decides to drive during his freshman year, as the level of competition will be much more capable of cutting off these drives. He also excels when driving along the baseline, where Powell can create highlights and finish over defenders at the rim.

Another interesting aspect of his game, which is still somewhat up in the air, is his court vision. As the primary offensive option throughout his high school career, defenses sold out to slow him down, creating easier looks for his teammates. He has shown flashes of being able to spot teammates and deliver the ball quickly for open looks following cuts and off-ball relocations. While he does force passes at times, giving opposing teams transition opportunities, his vision and feel are at a good spot in terms of long-term potential. Although passing will likely never be his primary role, he has the potential to serve as a great connective passer along the perimeter.

The 2025 NBA draft has made a lot of noise as the freshman class appears to be one of the most loaded in recent memory. This makes the upcoming college season extremely interesting as these players will be competing for high draft selections and thanks to the intriguing two-way upside of Drake Powell, his ceiling could be as high as anyone.

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.

US Vice President Kamala Harris took her second trip in four days to a state ravaged by Hurricane Helene. On Saturday, the Democratic presidential nominee met victims and first responders in North Carolina as US President Joe Biden’s administration tries to combat criticisms and claims that their response to the storm is too anaemic.

Harris paid a trip to a North Carolina Air National Guard base at Charlotte’s airport, where she received a briefing alongside a phalanx of state elected officials. The guard has been responsible for lifting more than 100,000 pounds of food to parts of the state most heavily affected by Hurricane Helene.

Today, I announced that the Biden-Harris Administration will provide $100 million to repair I-40, a major artery for western North Carolina.

We will stand with North Carolina and every state affected by this storm for the long haul. pic.twitter.com/tk8qXoUI9S

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— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) October 6, 2024

“The work that’s happening here that is so positively impacting so many people is really an example of the best we can do when we bring resources together at the federal, state and local level — and tap into the kind of collegiality that produces results,” she said during the briefing, T_he Washington Post_ reported.

Harris meets the storm-affected families

During the meeting, the vice president noted that she had spoken with many of the officials at the table earlier while the hurricane was wreaking havoc in the southeastern US states. “I think that these moments of crisis bring out some of the best of who we could be and who we are,” Harris continued.

The 59-year-old prosecutor-turned-politician also met a family who had to temporarily relocate from western North Carolina to Charlotte with their 6-month-old child, and another person who helped with “lifesaving recovery efforts during flooding,” according to the vice president’s office. In the past, hurricanes turned out to be a litmus test for different administrations, reflecting their competence or lack thereof in a crisis.

Last week, Trump attempted to paint Biden’s response to Hurricane Helene as “lackluster” without providing any evidence to support his claims. Helene made landfall Thursday and carved a path of destruction through six states, killing more than 200 people and is now touted as one of the deadliest storms in modern times.

Following the briefing to the vice president, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said on Saturday afternoon that at least 68 people were killed in the state due to the storm. On the same day, Harris announced that Mecklenburg County, which includes the state’s largest city of Charlotte, had been added to the federal disaster declaration.

The political side of it all

It is important to note that there is a political calculus behind Harris’s visit to storm-stricken states. The states of North Carolina and Georgia are battleground states coveted by both parties in a race that is essentially tied. While addressing a rally in Michigan, the former president falsely claimed that the government could not adequately fund the storm response because it had used Federal Emergency Management Agency money on migrants “who came into the country illegally.” He claimed the White House is missing a billion dollars that was used for migrants.

However, there is no concrete evidence that states that the Biden administration has used that money for the migrants. In reality, the Trump administration in 2019 told Congress that it was taking $271 million from Department of Homeland Security programs, including $155 million from the disaster fund, to pay for immigration detention space, The Washington Post reported.

While Harris was visiting North Carolina, the Republican presidential nominee addressed a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the same place where he witnessed an assassination attempt against him.

While addressing the rally, Trump pledged to never quit. “Exactly 12 weeks ago this evening, on this very ground, a cold-blooded assassin aimed to silence me,” the Republican candidate told tens of thousands of supporters after taking the stage behind bulletproof glass.

Calling the gunman a “vicious monster,” Trump vowed he would “never quit… never bend… never break” to cheers of “fight, fight, fight” from the crowd. The former president was joined by billionaire Elon Musk who said that Trump “must win to save democracy.”

With inputs from agencies.