Former President Donald Trump has for several days now spread lies and

spouted conspiracy theories about the federal government's response to

Hurricane Helene.

Disinformation that's causing real-time confusion

among some of those most desperate for help and answers.

We're joined now by Juliet Chaim,

former Assistant Secretary

at the Department of Homeland Security.

Her latest piece in the Atlantic is titled,

The Fog of Disaster is Getting Worse.

Thank you for being with us.

Thanks for having me.

As you note in the piece, the spread of rumors

and misinformation has always been a problem

during major disasters, especially

when the usual channels of communication break down.

But what's the real world harm inflicted by lies and conspiracy

theories about the hurricane relief effort?

Well, there's a couple of direct impacts.

The first is how the government works and functions. It

needs the support of communities and populations. If there's trust,

distrust, rumors, all sorts of rampant lies being spread in particular by the former

...