As the Federal Emergency Management Agency responds to Hurricane Helene’s deadly impacts and braces for Hurricane Milton to hit Florida, some social media users amplified baseless falsehoods about FEMA stealing disaster supplies.

In a video shared Oct. 2 on Facebook, Jeremy Herrell, the host of Live From America TV, a conservative media website said: “FEMA, that now has jurisdiction in a lot of these areas, is literally confiscating donations and relief materials,” listing items like first aid kits, food and water.

(Screenshot/Facebook)

On Threads, a user claimed that a friend in a disaster-stricken community in Tennessee told them that FEMA and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency were “out here confiscating supplies from community donation centers.”

“I’m trying to share it bc this is what is *actually* happening and it will never ever be reported so it must be spread!” the poster wrote Oct. 4, using an abbreviation for “because.”

(Screenshot/Threads)

These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed.  (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

FEMA is not “confiscating” emergency supplies or donations meant for Hurricane Helene survivors. Officials from FEMA and local leaders in states like Tennessee and North Carolina have denied these claims, warning that they impede disaster relief.

FEMA officials deny claims, warn they hinder disaster response

FEMA Press Secretary Daniel Llargues told PolitiFact that claims about FEMA confiscating emergency supplies are false.

“We bring commodities to the state,” Llargues said. “We hand them over to the state,” and the state distributes them.

In North Carolina, for example, Llargues said FEMA delivered supplies to Raleigh, North Carolina, and then groups including the North Carolina Air National Guard moved them to the state’s western end.

“But FEMA taking, confiscating the supplies — that’s another rumor” without any factual basis, he said.

On Oct. 6, ABC News’ “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos said the falsehoods about FEMA have prompted online attacks on the agency, such as one social media post that said “a militia should go against FEMA.”

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told Stephanopoulos such attacks have been harmful and demoralizing to FEMA staff, but also to first responders and local staff and volunteers.

“It has a tremendous impact on the comfort level of our own employees to be able to go out there,” she said. “When you have this dangerous rhetoric like you’re hearing, it creates fear in our own employees, and we need to make sure we’re getting help to the people who need it.”

FEMA also addressed this falsehood on its “Rumor Response” page.

“FEMA does not take donations and/or food from survivors or voluntary organizations,” the agency wrote. “Donations of food, water, or other goods are handled by voluntary agencies who specialize in storing, sorting, cleaning, and distributing donated items.”

Local leaders say supplies are not being ‘confiscated’

During an Oct. 3 media briefing, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, was asked about rumors that FEMA, the Red Cross, or the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency funds were turned away.

“That’s totally inaccurate,” Lee said. “There’s a lot of misinformation — in fact, there’s some belief and understanding that it may be coming from foreign sources just to confuse on the ground what’s happening here. There’s no confiscation of supplies or of products coming in by FEMA or TEMA.”

In X posts, Knox County, Tennessee, Mayor Glenn Jacobs, another Republican, acknowledged frustration with FEMA and also encouraged people to “pitch in to help” without spreading misinformation about the emergency.

“To my knowledge, FEMA, TEMA, nor anyone else is confiscating supplies,” Jacobs wrote in an Oct. 4 X post. “Please quit spreading those rumors as they are counterproductive to response efforts.”

Two things:
1) To my knowledge, FEMA, TEMA, nor anyone else is confiscating supplies. Please quit spreading those rumors as they are counterproductive to response efforts.
2) If everyone could maybe please put aside the hate for a bit and pitch in to help, that would be great.

— Glenn Jacobs (@GlennJacobsTN) October 4, 2024

North Carolina’s Department of Public Safety also created a “Hurricane Helene: Fact vs. Rumor” webpage, where it addressed the “rumor” that the state was “discouraging donations in the wake of Hurricane Helene” and “physical donations are being confiscated by state and federal officials.”

The page said North Carolina encourages financial donations and is “working with these organizations to stand up logistical operations to coordinate the collection and distribution of countless physical donations from across the state and country.”

“Donations are not being confiscated by state and federal officials,” it said.

In a video on that page, Justin Granny, a North Carolina Emergency Management spokesperson, said misinformation can spread quickly on social media.

“If you see something alarming, pause and verify it through a trusted source of information before you share it,” he said. “The last thing we want to do is spread confusion during an already stressful time.”

This falsehood also circulated during previous disasters, including after Hawaii’s destructive and deadly 2023 Maui wildfires.

Our ruling

Facebook posts claimed FEMA “is confiscating supplies and donations” meant for Hurricane Helene survivors.

FEMA officials and local and state leaders in Tennessee and North Carolina said these statements are baseless. FEMA delivers supplies and donations to states; the states and state-designated groups deliver the supplies.

We rate these claims False.

This fact check was originally published by PolitiFact, which is part of the Poynter Institute. See the sources for this fact check here.