Thanks for talking about this! I've been watching the coverage of Hurricane Helene + Milton play out because it's like a masterclass in misinformation and human psychological barriers to climate action. I am also afraid of the politicisation of climate disasters. The people most affected are also the least likely to have the funds or means to evacuate to safe areas - and who has time to vote when their home is being swept away?
It's very disheartening, for so many reasons. Helene, even without misinformation, is already such a catastrophic tragedy: With a years-long recovery ahead, and so few people having flood insurance, it's an extremely demotivating situation. Misinformation pulls us even further back, distracting us from having necessary conversations about how to recover, how to move forward, and how to address the root of the problem. It's a terribly counterproductive misdirection tactic that is shamefully political.
“Fear” of climate change-fueled disaster is reasonable, fear of the Biden administration stealing FEMA funds to rebuild Kiev is not; “fear” of the rising cost of homeownership in small cities is reasonable, fear of migrants stealing and eating pets is not. One of the great tricks of modern disinformation is to not only distort people’s understanding of the connection between the real problems of their lived reality and the true underlying causes of those problems, but to redirect their anxieties towards frequently-insane falsehoods that do not address the root causes at all. Perversely, this leads to the root causes remaining unaddressed, the resulting problems getting worse, and fear compounding into cynicism that, at best, nothing can be done, and, at worst, everyone in power or seeking power is hopelessly corrupt or are themselve the root cause of their problems. The type of lies and fearmongering you document here are more than just dangerous to those experiencing the disaster—they are an accelerant of a nihilistic doom loop that endangers a democratic society’s ability to solve any problems at all.
You make good points, Nate. And I don't think I intentionally avoided this larger point, so much as I simply zoomed in on one example of fear in a warmer world. But that doesn't mean I disagree, and with that, it's probably worth also recognizing the clear divide between the top of the presidential ticket (and something I probably should've stressed more above): the Biden-Harris administration, which is letting FEMA do its job while preaching unity, and Trump, who, against many in his own party even, continues to lie and politicize tragedies for his own gain — unfortunately, a common theme for him and if not the root cause then certainly an amplifier of the type of nihilistic doom you describe.
Thanks for talking about this! I've been watching the coverage of Hurricane Helene + Milton play out because it's like a masterclass in misinformation and human psychological barriers to climate action. I am also afraid of the politicisation of climate disasters. The people most affected are also the least likely to have the funds or means to evacuate to safe areas - and who has time to vote when their home is being swept away?
It's very disheartening, for so many reasons. Helene, even without misinformation, is already such a catastrophic tragedy: With a years-long recovery ahead, and so few people having flood insurance, it's an extremely demotivating situation. Misinformation pulls us even further back, distracting us from having necessary conversations about how to recover, how to move forward, and how to address the root of the problem. It's a terribly counterproductive misdirection tactic that is shamefully political.
“Fear” of climate change-fueled disaster is reasonable, fear of the Biden administration stealing FEMA funds to rebuild Kiev is not; “fear” of the rising cost of homeownership in small cities is reasonable, fear of migrants stealing and eating pets is not. One of the great tricks of modern disinformation is to not only distort people’s understanding of the connection between the real problems of their lived reality and the true underlying causes of those problems, but to redirect their anxieties towards frequently-insane falsehoods that do not address the root causes at all. Perversely, this leads to the root causes remaining unaddressed, the resulting problems getting worse, and fear compounding into cynicism that, at best, nothing can be done, and, at worst, everyone in power or seeking power is hopelessly corrupt or are themselve the root cause of their problems. The type of lies and fearmongering you document here are more than just dangerous to those experiencing the disaster—they are an accelerant of a nihilistic doom loop that endangers a democratic society’s ability to solve any problems at all.
You make good points, Nate. And I don't think I intentionally avoided this larger point, so much as I simply zoomed in on one example of fear in a warmer world. But that doesn't mean I disagree, and with that, it's probably worth also recognizing the clear divide between the top of the presidential ticket (and something I probably should've stressed more above): the Biden-Harris administration, which is letting FEMA do its job while preaching unity, and Trump, who, against many in his own party even, continues to lie and politicize tragedies for his own gain — unfortunately, a common theme for him and if not the root cause then certainly an amplifier of the type of nihilistic doom you describe.