Some TikTokers believe the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) accidentally revealed its plans to execute as many as 80,000 hurricane victims.
In audio circulating on the platform, a man allegedly identified as a FEMA official says that efforts are underway "to execute between 70,000 and 80,000."
In an apparent attempt to correct himself, the man quickly follows up by stating that the plan is "to evacuate between 70,000 and 80,000 people" instead.
But conspiracy theorists on the platform believe the initial remark wasn't a mistake and that FEMA aims to kill tens of thousands of people affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
Although TikTok appears to have removed many of the videos, the clips are still spreading freely on X, accompanied by the claim that FEMA inadvertently said "the quiet part out loud."
"Yeah. That wasn’t an accident," one user said. "It’s EXACTLY what they’re going for. Showing their true colors!"
"They're DEAD SERIOUS about that," another added.
People convinced of FEMA's nefarious intent replied similarly to other videos from TikTok.
Some X users even argued that the alleged plan was part of efforts to reduce the global population.
"The globalist idea of population control," one user wrote. "Thesecare [sic] sick evil people. I put nothing past them."
"He said what he said," another said. "Believe him."
But a simple search for the seemingly nefarious comment reveals that it did not come from FEMA. The remark wasn't even made this year.
The comment was made by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sept. 28, 2021, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in the nation's capital.
Austin was discussing the controversial withdrawal from Afghanistan. The mistake by Austin was even ridiculed at the time by right-wing accounts.
The attempt to tie Austin's comment to current weather issues is just the latest conspiracy theory regarding FEMA.
Earlier this week, verified accounts on X were also spreading the false claim that a U.S. Marine sniper was killing FEMA employees in North Carolina in order to protect residents.
Other internet users pushed tales without evidence of FEMA confiscating aid.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga,) even went as far as to claim that Hurricane Helene was a government-orchestrated attack on conservatives in Southern states.
While details differ, most of the conspiracy theories center around the belief that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are trying to rig the upcoming election by killing supporters of former President Donald Trump with "weather weapons."
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