Conspiracy theories have a habit of spiking following natural disasters, and Hurricane Helene is no exception. As the death toll topped 200 on Friday morning, the conspiracy theorists are out in full force spreading misinformation about everything from voter manipulation to a geoengineered industrial land grab.
One theory that has gained the most traction online is the idea that the storm was not a natural occurrence but instead engineered to devastate North Carolina and create access to the land for lithium mining.
“Can I say what I find suspicious as shit?” said one user in a video that totaled more than 1.8 million views before it was removed. “That one of the areas affected by Hurricane Helene is the world’s largest lithium deposit, and the DOD just entered into an agreement with this company right here to mine lithium for electric cars starting in 2025. Now that area is completely devastated.”
Another user encouraged viewers to look up the theory for themselves, adding, “Just look up flooding and lithium and discover the rabbit hole you go down.” The video had more than 204,900 views before it was also deleted.
Richard Rood, a climate professor at the University of Michigan, says that Hurricane Helene “is a recurring type of weather event, influenced by accumulation of heat due to greenhouse gas increases. We have made the storm more dangerous with the extra heat and moisture it has due to global warming.”
However, he points to a history of scientists talking about weaponizing weather. “This was right after World War II. It was an idea that died its natural death due to its impossibility—really, its ridiculousness,” he says. “It does, however, leave a seed for conspiracy theories.”
These claims have also taken off outside TikTok. “As the United States government and its buddies in the central banking corporate crime syndicates stand to make billions and trillions of dollars off of these lithium deposits that are underneath towns underneath homes, underneath schools, and they can’t get access unless the land is somehow completely cleaned off and available for mining, what better way to do that than by washing away the people who live there and all that they own, and blaming it on climate change?” prominent right-wing conspiracy theorist Stew Peters says in a video.
Another prominent theory plays off the idea that the path of destruction is hitting Republican areas hardest. “Don’t worry guys, weather modification isn’t real! It’s just a coincidence that Hurricane Helene is one of the most devastating ‘inland damage storms’ in history and that hundreds of pro-Trump counties are being massively impacted during the most important election of our lifetimes,” influencer Matt Wallace posted alongside video footage of flooding. The post received 11.8 million views, despite being swiftly debunked.
“This is a rhetorical tactic with political intent,” says Rood. “It is meant to be divisive, to raise conflict.” He also adds, “And, if it was meant to impede the ability to vote, it was likely a massive failure. Probably more pro-Harris voters were affected in Asheville and Boone than pro-Trump voters in surrounding counties.”
Republicans need not fear, however: Donald Trump is coming to their rescue—at least, according to a clearly AI-generated image of the former president wading through flood waters, wearing an orange life vest. “I don’t think FB wants this picture on FB,” reads the post’s caption. “They have been deleting it.” The image originally circulated on Meta and was debunked by Lead Stories and PolitiFact. Perhaps that’s why it’s being deleted . . . just a thought.