Why do hoaxes go viral during natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey?
As southeast Texas has been hit by heavy rains and record-setting flooding, fake photos of an underwater Houston airport and of a shark swimming down a highway have gone viral. There are also old images of former President Barack Obama serving hot meals to evacuees, and viral posts sharing the wrong National Guard number to call if people find themselves in emergency situations. (The Washington Post is keeping a useful tally of all hoaxes.) But after seeing all these hoaxes, it’s worth wondering: why do hoaxes go viral during natural disasters?
Fake information is circulated on social media all the time. During emergencies, though, more people are checking Facebook and Twitter more often for news and updates. So it’s more likely that a…
