Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino.
Quick Take
As disaster relief efforts continue in the areas affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, a Facebook post makes the false claim that Kid Rock has made “14 trips to storm areas with a truckload of supplies” while Taylor Swift has offered no help. The claim originated on a satirical site. To the contrary, Swift has donated $5 million for hurricane relief.
Full Story
Recovery efforts continue weeks after Hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated property and killed at least 250 people in parts of the southeastern United States. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it “has spent approximately $4.3 billion on Hurricane Helene response and recovery” as of Oct. 21, including search and rescue efforts and direct assistance to individuals and communities. The agency has delivered more than 12.6 million meals and 13.2 million liters of water to areas affected by Helene.
The hurricanes have also left a trail of misinformation about the federal response and the cause of the intense storms, as we’ve written.
An Oct. 17 Facebook post has drawn the disaster relief efforts into the partisan culture wars, comparing the hurricane assistance provided by musicians Kid Rock, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, and Taylor Swift, who recently endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. The post falsely claims, “Kid Rock has now made 14 trips to storm areas with a truckload of supplies each time. Taylor Swift is nowhere to be found.”
We found no evidence or news coverage about Kid Rock making 14 trips to the storm areas with a “truckload of supplies.”
The claim originated on a satirical website. A Google search led us to an article in the Dunning-Kruger Times, with the headline, “Kid Rock Heads to North Carolina with Millions in Supplies — Taylor Swift Nowhere to be Found.” The Dunning-Kruger Times is a self-described “subsidiary of the ‘America’s Last Line of Defense’ network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery.” We’ve written many times before about content from this network since it is often copied and reposted by social media users who don’t include a satire disclaimer, as is the case with this claim.
We did find a $20,000 donation attributed to Kid Rock for Trump’s GoFundMe campaign to aid victims of Hurricane Helene. The singer also shared the fundraising campaign link on his X account.
As for Swift, the hunger relief organization Feeding America announced on Oct. 9 that the singer had donated $5 million to the hurricane relief efforts.
“This contribution will help communities rebuild and recover, providing essential food, clean water, and supplies to people affected by these devastating storms,” the organization said in its Instagram post.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
Aniftos, Rania. “Kid Rock Performed at the RNC & the Internet Has Thoughts.” Billboard. 19 Jul 2024.
Eagleton, Flagg. “Kid Rock Heads to North Carolina with Millions in Supplies-Taylor Swift Nowhere to be Found.” Dunning-Kruger Times. 2024.
FactCheck.org. “Misinformation Floods Hurricane Season.” 13 Oct 2024.
Federal Emergency Management Agency. Press release. “Biden-Harris Administration Provides Billions in Federal Assistance for Helene Response and Recovery, Announces Initial Hiring Effort with New Community Liaison Program to Ensure Community-Driven Long-Term Recovery.” 14 Oct 2024.
Feeding America @feedingamerica. “Thank you, @taylorswift, for standing with us in the movement to end hunger and helping communities in need in the wake of #HurricaneHelene and #HurricaneMilton.” Instagram. 9 Oct 2024.
Fields, Ashleigh. “Trump GoFundMe for Hurricane Helene victims raises more than $3M.” The Hill. 1 Oct 2024.
Fox5Atlanta. “Kid Rock among Trump dinner guests at White House.” 24 Apr 2017.
GoFundMe. “Support Hurricane Helene Victims – Trump Authorized.” Accessed 22 Oct 2024.
KidRock @KidRock. “Make America Great Again – Kid Rock Merch Bundle. Only $47! available at http://store.kidrock.com.” X. 19 Sep 2024.
Wilcox, Christie and Phie Jacobs. “‘Daunting’: Hurricane-battered researchers assess damage from Helene and Milton.” Science. 21 Oct 2024.