By Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As U.S. officials struggle to push back against disinformation about natural disasters hitting the country, a Republican lawmaker from a hard-hit district condemned conspiracy theories repeated by fellow Republicans in Congress.
Representative Chuck Edwards, who represents a North Carolina district hit hard by flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in late September, called out the “outrageous rumors” spread by “untrustworthy sources trying to spark chaos.”
The flooding decimated much of North Carolina’s inland west, an unexpected outcome in a state which is used to dealing with hurricanes along its Atlantic coast.
Over 80,000 homes and businesses in the state still do not have power, and many communities remain isolated by roads wiped out by the floods.
One of the sources of disinformation is fellow Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has used both her official congressional social media account and her personal account to spread such disinformation.