It is one thing for government officials to respond to different levels of disasters, critical incidents, and emergencies grounded in reality. It is another entirely to manage social media-driven conspiracy theories and rampant misinformation sweeping through communities already reeling from devastation.

During the deadliest wildfires in the United States in more than a century, public information officers (PIOs) in Maui County, Hawaiʻi, USA, were forced to address both of these challenges—simultaneously.

As they worked tirelessly to manage the practicalities of a major disaster response—communicating about safe water sources, open shelters, and food distribution hubs—they also found themselves battling an onslaught of misinformation. Conspiracy theories claiming that blue space lasers were behind the fires, or that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was on Maui to seize land, blazed through communities. Counteracting these falsehoods became just as critical as managing the disaster response itself.

Plato once said that crises can drive innovation. Perhaps for the first time during a major U.S. disaster, government PIOs leveraged hyperlocal social media influencers to counter misinformation and deliver crucial updates to tens of thousands of residents and visitors.

A November 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that 21% of U.S. adults regularly consume news from social media influencers—a figure that jumps to 37% among those aged 18 to 29. Social media influencers are having a tangible, measurable impact on the public’s perception of government response to disasters and crises.

While mainstream media played its part, vetted social media influencers proved to be faster, more effective, and even more ethical when debunking myths in real time, especially on the platforms where most Americans consume news today.

Going Viral during Devastation

The world was watching when a firestorm funneled into West Maui, fueled by 80 mph winds, claiming 102 lives, leaving two residents unaccounted for, and decimating thousands of structures in a matter of hours.

The urban conflagration in historic Lahaina town, once the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom, was the result of a downed power line that was re-energized by accident, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Origin and Cause report released in 2024.

What most people reading headlines around the world did not see was the unprecedented volume of media inquiries, social media posts, and targeted misinformation campaigns that created a different type of firestorm attempting to sway public opinion about the government’s response.

Emergencies can become a breeding ground for political exploitation, disaster opportunists seeking donations, clout chasers capitalizing on the tragedy, and clickbait content flooding social media to boost followers, and each took place as Maui worked to respond to the devastation.

Chinese and Russian bots infiltrated comments and worked to shift Hawaiʻi’s political balance and sow seeds of government distrust. As that onslaught took place, rumors spread rapidly across Maui’s tri-island county of 160,000 residents, tens of thousands of visitors—and beyond. Among them:

• Government leaders were supposedly launching blue space lasers to start the fires and construct smart cities.

• FEMA was falsely accused of planning land grabs.

• A viral hoax claimed that Maui County was covering up fire fatality numbers on hundreds of children who stayed home from school on August 8, 2023, due to weather.

The spread of these falsehoods had profound consequences, with residents sharing them on social media, organizing protests, and even making threats of violence. The sheer volume of fake news made it difficult for the small team of local PIOs to keep up, but their efforts to combat misinformation were just as urgent as other critical responses to the disaster.

The Impact of Hyperlocal Influencers

Within 24 hours of the first of four blazes on August 8, 2023, Maui PIOs had pushed out nearly two dozen press releases and more than 40 social media posts and stories. During these early moments, one of the PIOs tasked with managing social media noticed that a local influencer, 808 Viral, had posted a message commending the communications team for its efforts.

As the death toll climbed and the scale of the disaster became clearer, the volume of misinformation and conspiracy theories rose in tandem. Recognizing that traditional news releases and social media posts alone were not enough to counter the flood of inaccuracies being promoted online, Maui’s social media PIO turned to an unconventional strategy—fighting misinformation on its own turf. The county PIO enlisted the help of 808 Viral founder Daniela Stolfi-Tow to combat misinformation and amplify factual updates. What followed was a collaborative, grassroots effort to debunk key conspiracy theories, with a focus on impacting the local population and visitors, the audiences that mattered most.

Maui PIOs strategically partnered with four key hyperlocal influencers, with followings ranging from 40,000 to 433,000. These influencers played a pivotal role in combating rumors using:

• First-person reporting.
• Investigative journalism.
• Photography and illustrations.
• Satirical videos.

For example, when one post claimed the mayor was evicting residents to make way for a recovery headquarters in Lahaina, 808 Viral refuted it by showing tenant-rental agreements. When a far-right “disaster chaser” from Kentucky claimed to be camping on the beach to “expose the government,” a video from 808 Viral caught him being confronted by a local resident, revealing he was actually staying in a luxury hotel. Stolfi-Tow also shared a strategic satirical video featuring stock images of Hawaiian native Jason Momoa to humorously dismiss the idea of blue space lasers, which helped quell public anxiety.

In addition to these efforts, 808 Viral shared crucial FEMA information, corrected widespread misconceptions, and provided clear resources for residents in need.

Stolfi-Tow’s influence went beyond debunking false claims. She also helped the county’s social media PIO navigate the influencer landscape, advising on which voices to amplify and which to avoid based on their credibility, ethical standards, and past demonstrated biases.

Collaborating with local influencers helped transform a potentially adversarial relationship into a cooperative one, ultimately ensuring accurate information

 reached those who needed it most. For instance:

• Local influencer Blake Ramelb posted a viral video saying the county was suppressing air quality data. After direct outreach from the county PIO, he deleted the original post and posted an accurate video, directing his followers to the actual sources for air quality data—while mainstream media outlets refused to retract their own misleading stories.

• Big-wave surfers and influencers Zane and Matty Schweitzer, who initially criticized the county’s response, were invited to press conferences as “citizen journalists.” They soon began sharing vital updates with their combined 91,000+ followers, amplifying county messaging to a wider audience.

None of the influencers with whom the county collaborated received financial or other compensation from the county. Instead, the incentive was aiding their community in a time of great need, direct access to county PIOs and the chance to break exclusive information. This was granted only to influencers who demonstrated a genuine commitment to sharing reliable updates with their followers, and they were designated by the county to be “citizen journalists,” receiving the same support as traditional journalists.

The Shifting Media Landscape

The wildfires in Maui highlighted the power of social media to inform the public during a crisis. Residents and visitors needed critical, accurate information—and they needed it swiftly.

A 2022 Reuters Institute Digital News report revealed that social media is the most common source of news for people in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and others. Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and X remain dominant, while younger users increasingly turn to visual platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

The rise of citizen journalism on social media—where ordinary people report news firsthand—has revolutionized how information spreads, particularly during emergencies. With traditional media facing challenges like budget cuts and reduced accessibility, social media has stepped in to fill the gap, providing on-demand updates in digestible formats.

While traditional media still plays a vital role, social media’s dominance as a news source continues to grow. This trend is expected to persist, as these platforms become even more integrated with real-time news reporting. Adapting to an evolving landscape is crucial for maintaining public trust and ensuring reliable information reaches the public.

Maintaining a Traditional Communications Strategy while Innovating

While hyperlocal social media influencers proved to be a powerful tool in countering misinformation during the Maui wildfires, especially among residents and visitors, intentionally engaging with vetted influencers was not a stand-alone solution. Instead, it was integrated into a broader framework of proactive and strategic messaging.

Managing misinformation is not just about responding to falsehoods—it’s about preempting them. Effective crisis communication hinges on the ability to rapidly disseminate accurate and comprehensive public information, establishing the government entity as the most reliable and credible source of information. This capability is largely dependent on having a well-structured crisis communications plan and a team trained to execute it effectively, 24 hours a day. Even among those organizations that have such plans, infrequent implementation can undermine the ability to respond efficiently when a crisis occurs.

A well-structured crisis communication plan must establish clear strategic objectives, define target audiences, assign responsibility for messaging, and outline a streamlined process for vetting information and disseminating it rapidly. To ensure these strategies remain practical and actionable in real-world scenarios, regular training—including communications-focused exercises and procedural reviews—is essential.

Releasing information: A Decision-making Framework

One of the most effective ways to preempt misinformation is to position the government entity as a consistent and reliable source of information. This requires real-time information sharing, a practice that often runs counter to leaders’ initial instincts. Concerned about revealing too much, providing inaccurate details, and even flaming public concern, some officials default to withholding information altogether—a strategy that generally backfires. Instead, leaders can employ a structured decision-making framework to determine what should be shared, balancing transparency with responsibility.

A practical approach to evaluating whether information should be released publicly involves four key criteria:

1. Legal protection. Is the information legally protected?

2. Operational security. Will sharing it compromise an ongoing investigation or public safety operation?

3. Privacy considerations. Would disclosure infringe on a reasonable expectation of privacy or violate personnel policies?

If the answer to those questions is “no,” the overriding consideration is:

4. Public benefit. Does the information serve the public interest, either by ensuring safety/well-being or by fostering trust through transparency? If the answer is “yes,” it should be shared.

Proactively messaging early in a crisis requires carefully crafting language, especially when information is reasonably believed to be true but verification is still underway. When any level of uncertainty exists, qualifying language such as, “At this time it is believed…” can be used to share information responsibly.

As another example, instead of withholding the number of victims until a final count is confirmed—a process that can take days, weeks, or longer—proactive communication involves releasing verified figures as they become available while clearly stating that the numbers may rise.

Even when information meets the criteria favoring public release, leaders unaccustomed to proactively releasing details may hesitate. In such cases, one final question should be considered: Will the information eventually become public anyway? If disclosure is inevitable through freedom of information requests or the legal process, proactive transparency is generally the best course of action. By preemptively releasing details, organizations can help guide the narrative, foster public trust, and mitigate potential fallout from delayed or reactive disclosures. Transparent communication demonstrates accountability and helps prevent misinformation, speculation, and erosion of confidence in governance.

In cases where the agency itself is the subject of the crisis due to alleged wrongdoing, however, decisions regarding the release of information should always be made in consultation with legal counsel.

The lessons learned from the Maui wildfires provide a critical case study for public information officers, government leaders, and crisis communicators. In an era where misinformation can spread at an unprecedented rate, the ability to guide the narrative is not just a helpful skill—it is a necessity. By combining proactive transparency, structured decision-making, and strategic partnerships with influencers and other trusted voices, government agencies can better safeguard public trust, protect their communities, and ensure that truth prevails in the aftermath of disaster.

KEHAULANI CERIZO, a Maui native, is the senior communications and government affairs officer who led the County of Maui’s social media platforms during the 2023 Maui wildfires. A former award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience, she brings breaking news strategies to government communications in both emergency response and daily operations.

CHRISTOPHER MANNINO is the vice president of Julie Parker Communications, a crisis communications firm specializing in government organizations. A former Chicago-area police chief, he brings 25 years of law enforcement experience to his work in strategic communications and crisis management.