Russia, China and Cuba amplified falsehoods about recent hurricanes, U.S. official says

Russian, Chinese and Cuban operatives have tried to amplify false information about the two hurricanes that recently hit the United States, spreading lies about the government’s disaster response, according to declassified intelligence cited by a U.S. official.

In one case, Russian “influence actors” shared a fake image on Telegram on Oct. 10, likely generated with artificial intelligence tools, showing an allegedly flooded Disney World in Florida, the U.S. official said Monday. A post on Oct. 9 falsely claimed the U.S. federal government was denying disaster relief funds to Americans.

Influencers linked to China have also seized on divisive material about Hurricanes Helene and Milton, claiming without evidence on social media that “U.S. spending on foreign conflicts had undermined support for disaster victims,” the U.S. official said.

An Oct. 1 post included an image probably generated by AI portraying Vice President Kamala Harris overlooking flood damage next to a sign saying that U.S. government funds have all gone to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, the official said.

Cuba also has waged a disinformation campaign that echoes efforts by Moscow and Beijing, falsely suggesting that U.S. support for Israel and Ukraine has diverted resources from disaster relief efforts, according to the U.S. official. In one case, Cuban messaging combined information about hurricane evacuation efforts with false claims that the U.S. government had left Americans to fend for themselves after spending billions to save Ukraine and Israel, the official said.

The revelations from the U.S. official follow recently released research from the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which tracks disinformation and online extremism. 

The research report said Russian state-affiliated media outlets and social media accounts were leveraging the hurricanes to foster discontent within the United States, undermine trust in disaster relief efforts and reduce public support for Ukraine. The disinformation is reaching large audiences on mainstream social media platforms, the report said.

Local, state and federal officials have struggled to counter a wave of disinformation about the hurricanes and their aftermath, including baseless conspiracy theories about weather modification and false claims about disaster relief efforts.