Misinformation surrounding Hurricane Helene leads to problems for NC Republicans

NORTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Misinformation surrounding Hurricane Helene is causing problems for Republicans in North Carolina.

The Hill, the reporting partner of Queen City News, writes that a Western North Carolina congressman was forced to combat rumors spread by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The Hill’s Mychael Schnell says these rumors, including the falsehood that storm relief money went to Trump-shared migrants, led to a barrage of calls to the district office of U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC 11). Edwards’ district includes almost all of Western North Carolina.

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Schnell told Queen City News that “…as these elected leaders try to help their constituents and help their districts recover from the hurricanes, they are also dealing with this rampant spread of misinformation.”

Schnell says she asked about Trump’s sharing of misinformation three times during an interview with Edwards. However, Edwards would not directly criticize the former president. Instead, he placed the blame on who he calls “storytellers,” who are more concerned about clicks than facts.

Edwards told Schnell that lies have been spread about FEMA’s response, but that doesn’t change the fact that the FBI can do more to help those affected by the storms.

“He said he hasn’t paid attention to what’s being said in the media because he’s so focused on recovery efforts. And then at some point he delved into FEMA and FEMA’s response, he criticized them a little bit,” Schnell added.

During the interview, Edwards made it clear that the number of calls regarding various rumors has decreased. He contributed this to a letter he sent to his constituents detailing what federal officials were actually doing in terms of recovery efforts.

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