Updated Oct 11, 2024 - Energy & Climate

Scoop: Dems beg tech platforms for hurricane misinfo crackdown

Andrew Solender

Rep. Deborah Ross, speaking into microphones in front of the U.S. Capitol on a clear blue-sky day. — Rep. Deborah Ross speaks at a press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 11, 2024. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images.

A group of House Democrats in districts hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton is urging tech companies to crack down on misinformation and scams about the storms and recovery efforts, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Lawmakers in both parties have been straining to stem the swarm of hurricane-related misinformation, with one Republican even issuing a fact sheet debunking common conspiracy theories.

Republicans have also grappled internally over Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Ga.) claims on social media that scientists can influence severe weather events.

Driving the news: In a letter to seven social media companies, Reps. Deborah Ross (D-N.C.), Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) and Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) wrote that false claims about the hurricane have "exacerbated the challenges facing communities during this critical period."

The lawmakers pointed to reports of scammers posing online as fake Federal Emergency Management Agency relief programs to target hurricane victims.
They also cited "particularly disturbing" reports of online harassment and death threats against meteorologists in the lead-up to Helene and Milton.
"Misinformation not only delays the recovery process but also erodes public trust in institutions that are essential to helping our states to rebuild," the lawmakers wrote.

Zoom in: The letter makes four requests to the social media companies — Meta, X, TikTok, Discord, YouTube, Snap and Instagram:

Increase monitoring and removal of misinformation about disaster recovery efforts.
Enhance fact-checking partnerships with local government agencies and non-profit organizations responding to the storms.
Strengthen the algorithms meant to flag conspiracy theories around natural disasters.
Put in place stronger guardrails against scams targeting disaster victims.

What they're saying: TikTok has been proactively directing users to reliable information on the hurricanes from FEMA and aggressively enforcing its misinformation policies, the company told Axios.

Spokespeople for the other social media companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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Scoop: Dems beg tech platforms for hurricane misinfo crackdown

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