this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2024
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Storms Helene and Milton have triggered rise of misinformation stoked by Trump and fellow Republicans

Meteorologists tracking the advance of Hurricane Milton have been targeted by a deluge of conspiracy theories that they were controlling the weather, abuse and even death threats, amid what they say is an unprecedented surge in misinformation as two major hurricanes have hit the US.

A series of falsehoods and threats have swirled in the two weeks since Hurricane Helene tore through six states causing several hundred deaths, followed by Milton crashing into Florida on Wednesday.

The extent of the misinformation, which has been stoked by Donald Trump and his followers, has been such that it has stymied the ability to help hurricane-hit communities, according to the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema).


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[–] Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world 117 points 6 days ago (11 children)

-Conservatives hate FEMA and want it dismantled.

-Conservatives hate the National Weather Service and want it dismantled.

-Conservatives hate climate science and want it to be silenced.

-Conservatives now also hate meteorologists.

How 'bout we compromise. Let conservative states be opted out of all of these things by default. Bundle these services into an opt-in government program called "Obama and Hillary's Woke Weather Service". They can opt in by calling 1-800-4 Pelosi. If all this stuff is just woke liberal propaganda, then they shouldn't mind this at all. They should be thrilled.

Let them find out about storms and let them deal with those storms without all of our woke liberal interference. Let them pray and let their God sort them out. In this way, they get everything they are demanding so they can stop whining like a bunch of little bitches all the time. When they have disasters, we can save some of our hard-earned money and just toss them a roll of paper towels like their dear leader likes to do.

[–] psoul@lemmy.world 23 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Honestly it would be funny to see Biden do some of this. He only has a few months left and can do whatever because of the supreme court. He could just go on TV an be like: “You know what? The conspiracies are true. We’re gonna turn off the doppler radars in southern states. No more flying. No more weather forecast. We’re going to ban farm laborers to come harvest your crops. The unpredicted weather is gonna ruin the crops anyways. We’re going to stop FEMA from giving aid in your republican states. Communism is unacceptable. We’re gonna ban fossil fuel in the south because that drives the weather crazy. No more cars. Enjoy the 1800s. Bye”

[–] BalooWasWahoo@links.hackliberty.org 24 points 6 days ago (1 children)

can do whatever because of the supreme court

No he can't, because he's biden/democrat. The supreme court made it particularly clear that they get to be the arbiters of what is allowed. They are going to allow everything if the president is republican, and deny everything otherwise.

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 1 points 2 days ago

He can just murder the Supreme Court first. He’s effectively supreme dictator.

[–] ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net 5 points 5 days ago

There was some maga posts who wanted to shoot up weather machines and people agreeing with it in the comments.

[–] lanolinoil@lemmy.world 12 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Hey -- I live here and can move but a lot of people are impoverished and can't. Feels wrong to collectively turn the back to them

[–] ZoopZeZoop@lemmy.world 17 points 6 days ago

To those who disagree with the above:

  • Moving is damn expensive.
  • Don't forget that the Republicans are working hard to prevent legitimate voters from voting, namely anyone who is more likely to support NOAA, NHC, climate science, education, FEMA, etc.
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[–] Krauerking@lemy.lol 8 points 6 days ago

They have forgotten we grouped up and share for the betterment of our species, not just ourselves.

They have forgotten what it's like to be without any support cause they have felt unsupported.

Its easy to feel invulnerable and capable when you still haven't been tested.

I pity them even though I don't want to give them money either.

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[–] BigMacHole@lemm.ee 23 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I'm a Republican who Does Her Own Research and it's OBVIOUS that these WEATHERMEN are causing our Problems and NOT the Billionaires who gave our Supreme Court Justices MILLIONS in Gifts and Vacations! All this Pollution IS LEGAL!

[–] Wogi@lemmy.world 7 points 5 days ago

Good news! The damage is reversible, we just need to lower carbon emissions to pre industrial levels! We can band together to defeat the evil weather man!

[–] MisterFrog@lemmy.world 52 points 6 days ago (4 children)

This is absolutely baffling being from practically any other English speaking country.

I mean, we have our share of crazies, but they're a tiny proportion.

It's one thing to doubt the well established climate science (very frustrating), but it's another thing to actually believe humans can precisely control the weather.

It's extremely troubling knowing these people exist, and can vote in the most powerful country on earth.

😬

Something, something if you believe in things without evidence (religion) it's not actually that surprising. And we (Australia) are much less religious than you. Though, this is certainly my bias talking.

[–] Zink@programming.dev 15 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Even being in the US, it is just as baffling, yet it is also somehow completely believable because some of us get to see it up close.

It’s insane knee-jerk team sports by people who tend to not get affected by certain social issues.

[–] oyo@lemm.ee 38 points 6 days ago (1 children)

This is relatively unique to the US because there IS a conspiracy. And it's orchestrated by an unorganized, disconnected cabal of wealthy elite... conservatives, who have for decades advanced a remarkable campaign of anti-intellectualism. The noted scholar Donald J. Trump eloquently described their aims when he spoke about how they "love the uneducated."

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 30 points 6 days ago

The Heritage Foundation is anything but unorganized.

[–] rekabis@lemmy.ca 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

we have our share of crazies, but they're a tiny proportion.

Canada shambles into chat, points depressingly at Pierre “PeePee” Polivere and our CPC and PPC parties, then walks back out shaking it’s head

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[–] uis@lemm.ee 12 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Is... is american dream is being as dumb as possible?

No healthcare, no welfare, no higher education. But I thought you had at least schools there.

[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 7 points 5 days ago

But I thought you had at least schools there.

Oh between vouchers and property taxes funding schools...we're uh, we're working on not.

[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 35 points 6 days ago (2 children)
[–] ashok36@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

And thank God for that. The only things that live forever are cancers.

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[–] VinnyDaCat@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

I kept trying to articulate my reaction but this is about the best it gets. Oh humanity.

[–] CynicusRex@slrpnk.net 11 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

I work at a meteorological institute in Europe and we also get phonecalls from angry imbeciles insulting the meteorologists.

My passion for science and curiosity peaked when I got the job. Now I realise everything is a pipe dream if we do not revolutionise education into something that makes more decent philosophers of us all.

[–] Asetru@feddit.org 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The system, no matter how good its education, will never be able to turn everybody into "decent philosophers". Some people just aren't smart, no matter how good education might get. Some just are gullible. That doesn't mean that they shouldn't be as well-educated as they can possibly be, but people and their capabilities just are a spectrum and always will be. And even if today's dumbest people will be as smart as today's "decent philosophers" by tomorrow, today's "decent philosophers" will still outsmart them, which is an issue if there are manipulative people with hidden agendas among them. Which they will be.

This isn't an education issue, it's an information and misinformation issue. Giving anybody, including malicious actors, their own, personal channel to spread whatever information they want, regardless of its quality or truth, has turned out to be a terrible idea. The Internet kind of comes with the idea to give everyone access to all of humanity's information without taking into account that there should be a certain responsibility attached to the question of the creation of that information or that there should be a separation of concerns between people who spread information and people who have other interests than just informing people in the best way possible.

[–] CynicusRex@slrpnk.net 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Fortunately I completely disagree.

“Imagine going back to the year 1600. Even then, Western Europe was one of the more educated parts of the planet, but back then about 20% of the population could read and write. And I suspect if you went back there and you asked someone who was capable of reading and writing—say a member of the clergy—and you said: “What percentage of the population is even capable of it?” They might have said: “If you have an incredible education system, maybe 50%.” You fast-forward 400 years to today, and we know that that prediction would have been wildly pessimistic; that nearly 100% of the population can be literate. But what similar blinders we have on today? If I were to ask you: “What percentage of the population is capable of understanding quantum physics? Or what percentage of the population is capable of contributing to medical research?” You might say maybe 5 or 10%, or with a really good education system maybe 15 or 20%. But what if the answer is a 100%? What could that mean for the rate at which human society could progress? What would that mean for the human condition? But that is just one aspect of the types of blinders we have on today, that in 400 years will hopefully seem silly.” —Salman Khan, Harvard Class Day 2014

[–] Asetru@feddit.org 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I love it.

Yeah, that's a much better point of view. I'll just make that my own. Ignore what I said before.

[–] CynicusRex@slrpnk.net 2 points 4 days ago

Wow, unexpected response. Have an excellent day fellow “philosopher” ;)

[–] HomerianSymphony@lemmy.world 25 points 6 days ago (1 children)

If Milton had stayed Cat 5, this could have been a self-solving problem.

[–] ZoopZeZoop@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Except not all the idiots lived in the path of Milton, or even where hurricanes go at all. I can't explain why the presence of hurricanes has become yet another idiotic political issue, but the MAGA morons are latching on to it.

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[–] irotsoma@lemmy.world 30 points 6 days ago (3 children)

I just saw someone on Facebook saying the aurora being bigger than usual was caused by the weather radars.

I mean ignoring the fact that the aurora has gone through phases for all of recorded history, the amount of energy it would take to generate that is enormous. Do they think we've launched a bunch of nuclear power plants into orbit to power these things? Or maybe the giant nuclear power plant in the sky might be the real reason?

No, they just don't understand the scale of things because they're used to their small town thinking. Just like they don't understand how much a billion dollars is and why one persons shouldn't be allowed to have that much while others have none.

[–] bleistift2@sopuli.xyz 24 points 6 days ago

Do they think

no.

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[–] kn0wmad1c@programming.dev 26 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Why is Trump allowed to keep spreading this unethical horseshit?

[–] GhostFaceSkrilla@lemmy.world 15 points 6 days ago (1 children)

The rulers welcome any culture war distractions to take the masses' eyes off the ongoing class war we have been losing for generations.

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[–] Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 22 points 6 days ago

I don’t want to live on this planet - in this star system anymore.

[–] gargamel@leminal.space 20 points 6 days ago

When reality is too hard these people will always make up a new one and retreat into conspiracies to help them cope.

What, you want us to help save the planet? But that would mean some sacrifices... No, the hurricanes are caused by the libruls and their evil weather machines, not us. Next. Meteorologists are just the scapegoats in their collective delusions.

[–] perestroika@lemm.ee 8 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

the experiences around Helene and Milton are just an extreme continuation of a trend where the public is increasingly getting its information from extremist figures online rather than experts

Sadly, all true.

I've had to remind people several times that "if you go reading Twitter, please put on your intelligence analyst glasses". To find a grain of truth in that truckload of dust.

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