In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s devastation in western North Carolina, the public meeting in Rutherford County last Wednesday was essential business. Officials from several shellshocked communities convened to talk about the extensive damage and ongoing search-and-rescue efforts.

But within hours, a conspiracy theory took hold. The meeting, social media posts claimed, was a secret discussion about bulldozing, confiscating or even selling land for profit or to mine lithium.

“The only lithium for sale in Rutherford County is at the local Lowes stores in a 9-volt battery,” said Bryan King, the chairman of the county commission, who was at the meeting. The power of the conspiracy theory, he added, “is just disheartening.”

As thousands across the Southeast grieve the deaths and damage left by the Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Sept. 26, a torrent of conspiracy theories, rumors and lies threatens to undermine efforts to provide accurate information and crucial resources. Disinformation has been particularly rampant in Georgia and North Carolina, and the sheer number of falsehoods has alarmed officials and experts.

“I have been doing disaster work for nearly 20 years, and I cannot think of another acute disaster where there has been this much misinformation,” said Samantha Montano, an assistant professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

While the hurricane plundered communities and killed more than 230 people across the Southeast, the epicenter of the damage runs through western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Over a week after Helene passed through, small mountain communities like Chimney Rock and Lake Lure in Rutherford County remain isolated in some way: left without water, electricity or reliable cell service, or stranded among collapsed roads.