Hurricane Milton Conspiracy Theory Claiming Democrats 'Manipulated' Incoming Storm Floods Social Media

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene seemed to suggest last week that Democrats have the ability to control the weather, posting on her social media a map of states impacted by Hurricane Helene with an overlay of their political leanings by county.

Now, as Hurricane Milton quickly approaches Florida, the claim seems to have caught on with many social media users echoing the claim and some saying the government is purportedly seeking to kill citizens.

State governor Ron DeSantis has expanded the state of emergency to 54 counties as Milton has became a Category 3 hurricane. The storm is expected to continue strengthening and could hit the west coast mid-week, bringing life-threatening flooding, according to the National Hurricane Center.

But some users believe the government is behind it, with one saying it is "prepping" it. "It has created a low pressure system spinning off the Gulf Coast of Florida, saturating the soil for several days. Hence when this storm hits with its 10Ft storm surge the floods will be catastrophic."

The messaged was echoed by others, claiming to have discovered a plot as the presidential elections approach.

Predictably, the Biden administration has not addressed the claims, but some Democratic officials did take to social media to reject them, especially Greene's claims. Brian Schatz, senator from Hawaii, was one of the first ones to respond to the post by implicitly saying that Democrats must regain control of the House to keep people like Greene Taylor away from positions of power in the Lower House:

Congressman Brendan Boyle was another active politician who responded to the comment, pointing out in disbelief that Taylor Greene is a congresswoman despite her frequent inflammatory comments: "This is a member of the Congress of the United States. For real. No joke."