“FEMA is supposed to help out white people last for the purpose of ‘equity.’ … It’s literally on the FEMA website.”
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FEMA’s website doesn’t say it must help white people last
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s website doesn’t say it’s supposed to help white people last. It says that federal law requires FEMA assistance "to be delivered in an equitable manner without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, language accessibility or economic status."
As Hurricane Milton bore down on Florida, misinformation about who and when the Federal Emergency Management Agency can help spread on social media.
"Friendly reminder," an Oct. 4 Threads post said. "Under the Biden Harris administration FEMA is supposed to help out white people last for the purpose of ‘equity.’ Don’t believe me? IT’s literally on FEMA’s website."
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)
Someone replied to the Threads post to ask for a link to find this requirement on FEMA’s website.
The original poster responded with a FEMA web page detailing "Goal 1" of its 2022-2026 strategic plan: "Instill equity as a foundation of emergency management."
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But the page doesn’t say that FEMA must help white people last. It encourages "the consistent and systematic fair, just and impartial treatment of all individuals."
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"The importance of equity in emergency management is not a new concept," the page says, citing a 1988 law that long predates the Biden administration and "requires FEMA assistance to be delivered in an equitable manner without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, language accessibility or economic status."
FEMA didn’t immediately respond to PolitiFact’s questions about the post, but we found no evidence on its website or elsewhere to corroborate the claim that the agency is supposed to help white people last.
We rate claims FEMA is supposed to help white people last Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Threads post, Oct. 4, 2024
Threads post, Oct. 4, 2024
Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2022–2026
FEMA Strategic Plan, updated December 2021
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Goal 1 - Instill Equity as a Foundation of Emergency Management, visited Oct. 9, 2024
The New York Times, Why Does Disaster Aid Often Favor White People?, Oct. 27, 2021
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FEMA’s website doesn’t say it must help white people last
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