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Fact-checking claims and debunking misinformation about Helene response in western NC

Workers hand out fresh water at a distribution site in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Asheville, N.C.
Jeff Roberson
/
AP
Workers hand out fresh water at a distribution site in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Asheville, N.C.

Misinformation and disinformation can cause harm under normal circumstances, but the stakes are particularly high in the aftermath of disasters.

WRAL PolitiFact reporter Paul Specht has been tracking viral claims about aid efforts after Tropical Storm Helene flooded much of western North Carolina. He talks with co-host Leoneda Inge about sifting through fiction to find the facts.

Guest

Paul Specht, WRAL PolitiFact reporter

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.
Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at WUNC as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.