Sunday Snapshot: Misinformation miring Hurricane Helene response

Here's what you may have missed when newsmakers hit the airwaves this Sunday, Oct. 6.

1. FEMA administrator: Post-storm conspiracies are "truly dangerous"

Conspiracy theories spiraling online in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which left more than 200 people dead across six states, are stoking fear among those affected by the storm and employees on the ground, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said Sunday.

• The conspiracies are spreading as another storm, Hurricane Milton, is forecast to hit Florida in coming days.

The big picture: Several false narratives have been amplified by Republican politicians, including former President Trump, who has highlighted baseless "reports" of bias against Republicans affected by the storm in North Carolina and argued his Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris diverted FEMA funds to housing illegal immigrants.

• Trump claimed at a campaign stop Thursday that the Biden administration "stole" FEMA money "so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them."
• He also contended FEMA is only offering $750 to Helene victims. But that $750 offer is through just one type of relief payment, Serious Needs Assistance, which is upfront aid that can be approved shortly after an application, not the total amount a victim may ultimately receive.
• Trump isn't solely responsible for the misinformation about FEMA disaster relief funds, which have been shared widely online — including by billionaire Elon Musk, who's backing Trump this election.

Zoom out: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters Wednesday that while FEMA is meeting "immediate needs" and can support recovery from the present disaster, it does not have the funds to make it through the rest of hurricane season.

• But he and other officials have emphasized that the agency does have the resources to cover the current crisis.
• Total economic losses from Helene could rise to around $35 billion, experts say.

Follow the money: As part of a short-term continuing resolution, Congress recently provided $20 billion to the FEMA disaster relief fund. But the agency has been dependent on an unstable source of funding amid stopgap limbo, Mayorkas said.

• The agency announced Sunday the federal assistance provided to survivors had surpassed $137 million.

Reality check: While FEMA does provide immigration-related aid, that funding is separate from disaster relief.

• The Shelter and Services Program, which supports communities providing humanitarian services to migrants and is administered in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is an entirely different fund.
• Congress appropriated a total of $650 million for the program in fiscal year 2024, whereas the separate disaster relief fund totals tens of billions of dollars.
• "FEMA's disaster response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts," the agency said in a statement Thursday on its "Rumor Response" webpage. "Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts."

What they're saying: "It's just a shame that people are sitting home on their comfortable couches, while we have thousands of people here on the ground that have left their own families to be able to help those in need," Criswell said on ABC's "This Week" of those amplifying false claims, which she slammed as "frankly ridiculous."

• The rumors are "a distraction" impeding response efforts, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis (R) said on CBS News' "Face the Nation," noting many "observations are not even from people on the ground."
• Asked about the Trump's contention about FEMA funds, Tillis criticized the Biden-Harris administration's border policies but said, "Right now, not yet, is it affecting the flow of resources to Western North Carolina," adding the state has the resources it needs.

RNC co-chair Lara Trump, who is from North Carolina, clashed with CNN's Dana Bash over the rumors Sunday, repeatedly pointing to the unrelated migrant crisis when pressed about her father-in-law's comments.

• "My question is about the misinformation, particularly the notion that they are moving money to migrants ... which FEMA says flatly is not true," Bash said.
• Lara Trump responded, "You have migrants being housed in luxury hotels in New York City," arguing money could be redirected to disaster aid — but that fund is a separate, congressionally appropriated program.
• "That has nothing to do with the people in your home state right now," Bash replied.
• The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

2. Jan. 6 takes spotlight one month till Election Day

Former President Trump's actions around the Jan. 6 insurrection and repeated false 2020 election claims gained fresh urgency this week.

State of play: A judge unsealed special counsel Jack Smith's recent, hefty filing Wednesday containing new evidence in his federal election interference case against Trump that's been on ice due to the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity.

• Per the filing, when he was told Vice President Mike Pence had to be evacuated from the Capitol, Trump said "So what?"
• Trump allies and a former federal prosecutor have condemned the release of information so close to Election Day, as early voting has already begun, with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) calling it "a temper tantrum."

What they're saying: "I think this is a ridiculous ploy, of course," Lara Trump told CNN's Dana Bash during "State of the Union," referencing Smith's filing.

• "The January 6 situation has been amplified to a level that I don't think is almost believable to so many people right now," Lara Trump added, shifting the conversation to voters' affordability concerns.
• Lara Trump said the former president would "of course" accept the results of "a free, fair, and transparent election."

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Ca.), the leading candidate for California's Senate seat, said Smith's filing "reaffirmed … what we know about Trump" in an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press."

• When asked about the comparisons to then-FBI Director James Comey's Oct. 2016 announcement of a reopened probe into Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's emails, Schiff claimed the situations were different.
• "Because what you have there was the director of the FBI unilaterally making a decision to talk about an open investigation … that is a very different circumstance than a court filing made under seal," he told NBC's Kristen Welker.

Zoom out: On who won the 2020 election, House speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) refused to say either way when pressed during ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos.

• Stephanopoulos referenced Sen. JD Vance's (R-Ohio) similar refusal during the vice presidential debate on Tuesday. When Vance downplayed Trump's role in the Jan. 6 attack, his opponent Gov. Tim Walz accused him of "revisionist history."
• "It's a gotcha game," Johnson told George Stephanopoulos, accusing "mainstream media" of playing it with Republicans. "You want us to litigate things that happened four years ago when we're talking about future. We're not going to talk about what happened in 2020. We're going to talk about 2024."
• He sidestepped the question, while affirming he has worked with President Biden for the last four years.

3. Foreign misinformation threats deepen

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, warned of "significant" efforts from foreign actors to influence American voters ahead of November's election.

By the numbers: Kelly estimated that the odds a political comment or post on social media was made by a foreign actor — even if that poster appears to be a U.S. citizen — are in "the 20 to 30% range."

• Specifically, Kelly said, the bulk of those posts come from the triple disinformation threat of Russia, China and Iran.
• Asked if Arizonians had been exposed to targeted information operations, Kelly told CBS News' Margaret Brennan the threat is spread across battleground states that will be key to the outcome of the 2024 election.

What he's saying: "It's up to us, the people who serve in Congress and in the White House, to get the information out there that there is a tremendous amount of misinformation in this election and it's not going to stop on November 5," he said.

Flashback: Last month, several headlines about Russian disinformation and influence campaigns targeting the Harris campaign, as well as an Iranian effort to hack the Trump campaign, underscored the ongoing risk of foreign interference present throughout modern elections.

More from Axios' Sunday coverage:

• Walz defends Minnesota abortion policy in first interview as VP nominee
• One year after Oct. 7 attacks, Netanyahu is on a winning streak
• How Harris is getting Trump-y on immigration

Editor's note: This piece has been corrected to show Sen. Tom Cotton represents Arkansas (not Alaska).