Hurricane Misinformation is Costing People Their Lives. Here’s What You Need to Know

On Tuesday morning, Alex Mahadevan was preparing to leave his home in St. Petersburg, Florida, in anticipation of Hurricane Milton. It was a stressful time. Meteorologists were forecasting a 15-foot storm surge that could devastate his city.

Yet Mahadevan, director of The Poynter Institute’s MediaWise—which aims to identify misinformation through media literacy education—insisted on talking to The Sunday Paper in the midst of evacuating. Why? Because he was angry about the misinformation he was seeing in the wake of Hurricane Helene. “To watch people weaponize Helene’s devastation for political purposes—and to see recovery efforts hindered by people spreading misinformation—is infuriating,” he says.

From false claims that FEMA is confiscating emergency supplies and giving funds to migrants instead of storm survivors to conspiracy theories claiming politicians manipulated the weather to target Republican areas, the misinformation and disinformation in the wake of the recent hurricanes has been rampant. That’s why we asked Mahadevan what all of us need to know to spot false claims—and what we can do to stop them from spreading.

A CONVERSATION WITH ALEX MAHADEVAN

We’re hearing the terms “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “conspiracy theory” a lot right now. Can you define each?

Misinformation is anything false that appears anywhere for any reason. For example, if I see a scam for the opportunity to win an Amazon gift card and I share it, I’m spreading misinformation. I don’t know that it’s false. I’m sharing it because I want a chance to win.

Disinformation is false information that is spread on purpose by someone who knows that it’s false. So, that might be the person who created that Amazon scam. It might be a political operative who shares a deep fake audio call of President Joe Biden. Disinformation is done on purpose.

Conspiracy theories fall in between, because while there are plenty of people who create and spread conspiracy theories on purpose, there are those who get sucked into conspiracy theories by accident.

A lot of people are at their worst moment in Appalachia and Florida right now, and they are looking for any sort of answer or meaning in this tragedy and chaos. And so if they see a story online shared by someone they trust saying, “Hey, the government is creating these storms to try to disrupt the voting process,” they might believe it. That’s misinformation. They don’t know it’s false, but they are believing it and sharing it because it gives them a story to latch on to when they really need that.

Is misinformation and disinformation getting worse?

I liken it to the parable of the frog that’s being boiled alive: You put the frog in a pot of cold water and then someone turns the heat on, and slowly over time you are being boiled alive—and you don’t realize it until the very last moment.

That’s what it has felt like for me with misinformation. It’s part of my job, so I spend a lot of time going online and finding false claims and making sure people know they’re false. But as I looked around after Hurricane Helene came through and the majority of what I saw was false, I had this realization: I am the frog who’s being boiled alive.

It’s good that we are having this conversation and talking about misinformation and its effect on public health, safety, and democracy. But unfortunately, the reason we’re having this conversation is because it is having a profound impact on our society and humanity right now.

What are some of the biggest red flags people can stay alert to when it comes to spotting misinformation?

No. 1: If you read a post, watch a video, or see an image online and it fills you with a deep sense of dread, anxiety or anger, there’s a good chance that it’s missing context—or it might be outright false. Some of the most effective pieces of misinformation and disinformation are effective because they appeal to your emotions. So, before you click share, check your emotions. Are you angry? Upset? Anxious? If you are, don’t hit share.

No 2: Be on the lookout for inflammatory language. Posts you can trust are usually nuanced and explanatory, and they don’t use extreme language. Watch out for extreme terms.

No. 3:  Click on the bio of the person sharing the information. Are they an expert in what they say they’re an expert in? It only takes one click of a button to see if someone is trying to sell you something, or if they’re not who they say they are.

No. 4: Learn how to do what’s called lateral reading. This involves opening up a bunch of different tabs and doing multiple online searches with some keywords from the post you’re seeing. Then, sift through those results and try to find multiple reliable sources for what you’re looking for.

No. 5: Take a step back from the information or image, consider the above advice, and slow down. It’s a lot of work to fact check, but it’s a worthy effort to become an active consumer of information online rather than a passive consumer.

For those who say that sounds like a lot of work, what do you say? Why is it worth the time to sniff out misinformation?

Integrity! I believe everyone wants to be an honest person. Everyone believes in integrity. It’s in our founding father’s documents: We hold these truths to be self-evident…

Truth is crucial. For us to exist in a shared society, we have to exist under a shared set of facts.

Also, you care about your friends, your family, and your community, right? Misinformation hurts all of them. Maybe it’s vaccine misinformation that discourages your aunt from getting a Covid vaccine and she gets sick. Maybe it’s storm misinformation that makes your friend who lives in North Carolina not trust FEMA and miss out on crucial supplies that could save his life. Maybe it’s your 18-year-old cousin who’s voting for the first time and making a decision that’s going to impact the rest of her life, and she’s doing so based on facts she sees online. Misinformation can totally change the direction of a country.

If you care about your friends, your family, your community, and yourself, you should care about preventing the spread of misinformation.

If we see misinformation, is there anything we can do to try to stop it? What’s most effective?

The most effective way to talk to someone about misinformation is in person or on the phone, privately. Try not to embarrass someone online; it’s not how you’ll change their mind. Show empathy. Try to keep in mind that most people don’t share misinformation on purpose. Those people are only sharing it because they want to help their friends and family, and maybe they’re scared—they might be at their lowest point.

Also, be prepared to have a long conversation. Ask a lot of questions. Ask about where they got their information and try your best to lead them to a legitimate news source. When you do this, try to make it a news source that’s closer to their political perspective.

For example, if my mom watches MSNBC and she sees some wacky claim, I might say, “Mom, here’s what I’m seeing on CNN or The New York Times.” If it’s someone quoting Fox News saying that FEMA is confiscating supplies, I might say, “Hey, check out this article from The Wall Street Journal where they talk about all the help FEMA is providing.” Give them news sources that are a little bit closer to their political persuasion but are still trustworthy.

Alex Mahadevan is director of MediaWise, Poynter’s digital media literacy project that teaches people of all ages how to spot misinformation online. As director, Alex oversees program and curriculum development, research and editorial content for MediaWise, which has reached more than 80 million people in 12 countries.