“Think about this” a meme starting to bubble up on Facebook says, “ the Red Cross is not helping California wildfire victims, but is helping the caravan.”
As with so many memes and articles spreading misinformation, part of the text is correct, but half the claim is entirely false.
It is correct that the Red Cross has provided aid to the group of migrants traveling to the U.S. southern border, as the organization informed TWS Fact Check:
(You can read more on their work with migrants here.)
But, claiming the Red Cross “is not helping California wildfire victims” is pure codswallop. “The American Red Cross has been on the ground, working around-the-clock to support communities reeling from the devastating California wildfires,” the organization tells TWS Fact Check.
Here’s a breakdown of some recent numbers, according to the Red Cross:
- “Tuesday night, more than 930 people were still staying in 13 Red Cross and community shelters across California.
- People are relying on Red Cross reunification services, including use of the Safe and Well website. There are nearly 9,000 Safe and Well registrations for the wildfires, more than 83,900 searches, and just over 2,050 matches through Safe and Well.
- More than 1,450 Red Cross disaster workers have answered the call to help over the past 13 days and 721 will be serving these communities through the Thanksgiving holiday, supporting people affected by the wildfires in California.
- Working with partners, the Red Cross has served more than 71,000 meals and snacks.
- Volunteer mental health, health services and spiritual care professionals have provided more than 21,800 services to evacuees
- [The Red Cross] distributed more than 16,800 relief items for people forced from their homes.”
If you have questions about this fact check, or would like to submit a request for another fact check, email Holmes Lybrand at [email protected] or the Weekly Standard at [email protected]. For details on TWS Fact Check, see our explainer here.
