House Democrats call on tech companies to crack down on hurricane misinformation

A group of House Democrats on Friday pushed social media companies to do more to crack down on misinformation posted online regarding hurricanes Helene and Milton.

The coalition of four House Democrats come from North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, where the hurricanes hit the hardest. Hurricane Helene devastated areas in all three states earlier this month, while Hurricane Milton blasted Florida on Wednesday. 

Democrats and state leaders have blasted Republicans for spreading alleged misinformation regarding the hurricanes origins, and federal responses to the hurricanes, including allegations that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) improperly used funds from its disaster relief programs to help illegal immigrants. FEMA has denied the allegations, stating that money for illegal immigrants and disaster relief come from two different funds. 

The four Democrats claimed in a letter to the CEOs of X, Meta, Discord, YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram that they have witnessed a surge in "misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories and scams" regarding the hurricanes.

“Disaster response agencies, climate scientists and rescue organizations work tirelessly to provide critical information and render assistance to those impacted by catastrophic events,” the lawmakers wrote. “The lies, scams, and conspiracies widely circulating on your platforms compromise their ability to work effectively and place the lives and safety of Americans at risk.” 

The letter was signed by North Carolina Reps. Deborah Ross and Wiley Nickel, Florida Rep. Kathy Castor, and Georgia Rep. Nikema Williams.

The lawmakers outlined four ways the companies can stop the spread of unreliable or false information, such as increasing their monitoring and quick removal of misinformation and disinformation related to disaster recovery efforts, enhancing their fact-checking partnerships, strengthening their algorithms to flag potential conspiracy theories, and creating stronger safeguards against scams.

"You have the power and the responsibility to improve the digital spaces where millions of Americans both seek and promote information during crises, including natural disasters," the Democrats wrote. "Again, we strongly encourage you to act quickly and decisively to address the clear dangers posed by the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and scams in the wake of these storms. Lives, livelihoods, and the integrity of our recovery efforts depend on it."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage