Meteorologists tracking Hurricane Milton have been inundated with conspiracy theories, abuse and death threats amid an unprecedented surge in misinformation following two major hurricanes in the US. The falsehoods, stoked by Donald Trump and fellow Republicans, have included claims that scientists are controlling the weather and should be killed.
Katie Nickolaou, a Michigan-based meteorologist, said she and her colleagues have received messages alleging they created and steered the hurricanes. 'I have had to point out that a hurricane has the energy of 10,000 nuclear bombs and we can't hope to control that,' she said. 'But it's taken a turn to more violent rhetoric, especially with people saying those who created Milton should be killed.'
The misinformation has also hampered relief efforts, according to the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema). Trump spread false claims that Fema had run out of cash for hurricane survivors because it was given to illegal immigrants. Violent threats against Fema workers have become common on social media platforms.
President Joe Biden condemned the 'onslaught of lies', calling the weather control claims 'beyond ridiculous' and 'so stupid'. He urged Trump to 'get a life'. Despite human-caused climate change worsening hurricanes, scientists cannot create, control or steer individual storms.
Chris Gloninger, a former TV meteorologist, said the trend reflects the public increasingly getting information from extremist figures online. 'The modern Republican party has an army of people who are on social media with huge followings who just disseminate this misinformation,' he said. 'It's mindblowing, I've never seen anything like this in any disaster.'
