Under the Dome: Helene creates a flood of ‘conspiracy theory junk’
Good morning and welcome to the Under the Dome newsletter. I’m Emily Vespa.
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has repeatedly attacked the state and federal governments over their response to Tropical Storm Helene, in widely viewed posts on the social media site X. Some officials are pushing back.
“An online disinformation campaign by the LG during an unprecedented crisis is unhelpful, causes confusion in areas with limited communications and potentially puts lives at risk,” Gov. Roy Cooper’s spokesperson Jordan Monaghan posted Wednesday in response to Robinson’s claim that the governor neglected to “care about preparing for the storm.”
Robinson posted Tuesday that Florida would rebuild the roads in North Carolina. Ardis Watkins, the executive director of the State Employees’ Association of North Carolina, said that’s not true.
“Our folks at DOT will appreciate the help from neighbors but how dare you want to lead them as a cabinet agency and say something like this!” Watkins wrote in part.
Robinson’s comment about the roads was a response to a post by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida about sending staff and equipment to North Carolina.
Another post from Robinson on Tuesday gave the false impression that the state hadn’t run any air missions to Western North Carolina. “Virtually every single aircraft currently running missions are privately owned,” he said. “The few that aren’t are owned by states other than North Carolina.”
In fact, the North Carolina National Guard had by then conducted 57 air missions and rescued over 400 people by air, it posted earlier that day. It has been using a combination of its own aircraft and those of other states.
Helene misinformation
Misinformation about the government’s Helene response has mounted. State Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Republican from Macon County, asked the public on Thursday “to help STOP this conspiracy theory junk that is floating all over Facebook and the internet about the floods in WNC.”
“I’ve been working on this 12 hours a day since it started and I’m growing a bit weary of intentional distractions from the main job …. which is to help our citizens in need,” Corbin wrote on Facebook.
We wrote this week about posts with fake or misleading images circulating after Helene, and we’ve seen a number of posts with false or suspicious information, too. We’ll keep collecting online misinformation, and we’ll tell you about claims to watch out for in future editions of this newsletter.
What else we’ve been working on
It’s a name you’ve seen if you’ve been following North Carolina politics lately: Scott Lassiter. He sued House Speaker Tim Moore, ran for state Senate, won a tough primary race, and most recently, spoke out against Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. Now, weeks before the election, he’s been suspended with pay from his job as a middle school assistant principal. Read Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi’s story to find out more.
What else we’re reading
Prosecutors in Georgia told the U.S. Supreme Court in a brief why they oppose Mark Meadows’ attempt to move their case against him to federal court, CNN reported.
Poll watch
Another poll shows a tied presidential race in North Carolina and a big lead for Attorney General Josh Stein in the governor’s race.
This time it’s the High Point University Poll, which has Stein up 51% to 34% among likely voters over Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
The poll also says more North Carolina voters plan to support a Republican for U.S. House than a Democrat, by a 48% to 44% margin. But in asking about the state House and state Senate, pollsters found the parties are tied.
VOTER GUIDE
In the latest candidate questionnaires from our 2024 NC Voter Guide, see what candidates for lieutenant governor have to say about the issues, and learn more about their biographies. Three candidates answered our questions:
Wayne Jones, Constitution Party
Today’s newsletter was by Emily Vespa with contributions from Michael Wilner and Jordan Schrader. Check your inbox on Sunday for our governor’s race edition of Under the Dome.
You can sign up to receive the Under the Dome newsletter at newsobserver.com/newsletters. Want your friends to get our email, too? Forward them this newsletter so they can sign up.
We want to know what you would like to see in the Under the Dome newsletter. Do you like highlights from the legislature? Political analysis? Do you have a question you’d like The News & Observer team to answer? Tell us here. You can also email us at dome@newsobserver.com
Don’t forget to follow our tweets and listen to our Under the Dome podcast for more developments.