How Pete Buttigieg stopped Elon Musk’s childish antics after Hurricane Helene
Minister of Transport Butt Pete had to talk to Elon Musk by phone to meet the tech billionaire and Donald Trump superfan to stop spreading false information about hurricane relief.
Buttigieg and Musk initially clashed over X last Friday, when Musk made false statements that the Federal Aviation Administration planned to “shut down” airspace over hard-hit states. They then spoke on the phone, Buttigieg told MSNBC Jen PsakiLater Buttigieg corrected Musk open and inviting noted conspiracy theorist to call him with questions.
“I was surprised to see a core part of some of the details being pushed online as something it wasn’t,” Buttigieg told Psaki, adding that the flow of misinformation partisan debate over the response to Hurricane Helene “came at a real cost to people on the ground.”
Musk and Buttigieg’s specific dispute involves temporary flight restrictions to North Carolina, where Musk’s satellite Internet company, Starlink, is setting up emergency Internet service. “Hundreds” Musk posted that some pilots in the area were unable to land because the FAA and Federal Emergency Management Agency blocked their flights.
But the reality, as Buttigieg and an FAA spokesperson explained, is less spooky. The FAA has never closed airspace over North Carolina. However, in some areas, at the request of local law enforcement, the FAA and state aviation agencies have required what Buttigieg called a “higher level of coordination” between pilots and local airports. to avoid mid-air collisions. Such requirements are standard after major natural disasters, when nearby airspace can become dangerously crowded.
That explanation seemed to resonate with Musk, who posted on Friday afternoon a message thanking Buttigieg for call and help”simplify“FAA regulations. But he has not removed any of his false or misleading posts, which also suggested that federal aid workers Emergency aid shipment “arrested” and depleting their agency’s budget “illegal transport of people” to America
Experts who study emergency management have sad about the change in vibe on Xhas been a useful source of real-time disaster information. Today, it’s the starting point for a broader range right-wing disinformation campaign on the federal government’s response to Hurricane Helene.
“You look at what’s going on online [and] much of it appears to be politically motivated,” Buttigieg said. “And that is damaging and disrupting the return to normalcy for so many people whose lives have been upended by this terrible storm.”
