By Kyle Becker
Following the Maui fire disaster, there have been concerns of mishandling and a lack of transparency, with claims of media restrictions on the island.
The current media landscape seems determined to maintain a positive image of Joe Biden, especially evident in the coverage of the Hawaii incident. Two significant aspects underscore this narrative.
Firstly, there’s President Biden’s perceived aloofness, marked by his repeated “no comment” replies to early queries and frequent vacations during this crisis. His recent visit to Maui only magnified his public relations challenges. Secondly, there are concerns about the local administration’s measures, or lack thereof, which may have exacerbated the situation. Issues like an unutilized warning system, queries about the fire’s initial containment, and an alleged delay by a water management official in redirecting water to combat the flames, are notable.
Among this muffled media landscape comes an anonymous tip: A reported FEMA letter dated August 19, 2023 that urges an official media blackout on new disaster footage.
EXCLUSIVE 🚨 | A person wishing to stay anonymous has sent me this email by FEMA sent to their nonprofit who is headed to Maui to help with disaster relief.
They say they are being asked to STOP posting any images or videos while on the ground effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/hdZy5ubwvv
— Anthony Cabassa (@AnthonyCabassa_) August 21, 2023
It was signed off on as Justin Angel Knighton, who is the Director of FEMA’s Office of External Affairs.
“A person wishing to stay anonymous has sent me this email by FEMA sent to their nonprofit who is headed to Maui to help with disaster relief,” Anthony Cabasa reported. “They say they are being asked to STOP posting any images or videos while on the ground effective immediately.”
The August 19 letter reads:
“Out of respect for those who perished, we were asked by Maui County officials to pause on posting on social media and elsewhere new imagery of damage/disaster/debris starting now. They are asking for a full stop on disaster imagery going forward. At this time, we have not been asked to take any photos or video down. Our team on the ground is coordinating with the County for further guidance to ensure we remain fully aligned. Cultural sensitivity is of the utmost importance in all our response and recovery activities to this disaster.”
This squares with other reports, such as that given by Fox News’ Will Cain.
To be clear, there have been MANY amazing citizen journalists and local news like @MauiNOW is great. But when you attempt to control information you sow the seed of conspiracy theory. You know a resource that’s missing in Maui: information.
— Will Cain (@willcain) August 15, 2023
“We believe we are the only national media in West Maui,” Cain said. “I haven’t see any other crews. And they tried to censor us and shut us down. ‘West Maui is a media free zone.’ We only got through the checkpoints because I’m a property owner in West Maui. They have this place on info lockdown from Waihee to Maalaea.”
“To be clear, there have been MANY amazing citizen journalists and local news like @MauiNOW is great,” he added. “But when you attempt to control information you sow the seed of conspiracy theory. You know a resource that’s missing in Maui: information.”
Nick Sortor is one such citizen journalist doing yeoman’s work shedding light on the deteriorating situation in Maui.
Something is very wrong in Maui. The fire was the result of failed government not climate change.
One of the most callous things I’ve ever seen was the video, taken by someone in the mayor of Lahaina’s personal vehicle, of them driving thru the disaster area while the fire was spreading.
A woman lay by the road and they just drove by her.
One of the passengers remarked that “someone” would come along and take her to safety.
But they were there, and they just drove on by.
No wonder they’ve put a lid on all new imagery.
The tone deafness of joe biden is shared by so many dems in power, including this mayor.
They have covered up most of the facts since the beginning. What they have done such blocking off traffic and not allowing locals out is confirmed by eyewitnesses, NOT the authorities. The fact that water was turned off was confirmed by eyewitnesses, then we found out the fool in charge shut it off for equity purposes. The fact that food and water are not being allowed in restricted by the authorities is also confirmed by eyewitnesses.
Naturally, the reports of these eyewitnesses who are THERE and SAW will be discounted by the authorities who want to cover up what they did. This was a planned massacre pure and simple.
Mayor Bissen was asked by reporters ten days after the disaster how many children were missing. He responded: “I don’t know.”
When pushed by increasingly angry reporters he said he’d tell them if he knew. He knows or has a good idea. His body language says so.
It is now common knowledge that the schools were closed that day and 650 children were either home alone or with grandparents since their parents were all at work.
We have all seen the hundreds of burned-up cars lining the single road in and out of Lahaina, yet the politicians claim that only 111 people have died.
So where are all the elementary-aged kids? The inept mayor doesn’t want people to know.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/08/where_are_the_650_children_of_king_kamehameha_elementary_school.html
We’ve all seen that in the face of a crisis, Democrats are only good at pointing fingers, not solving problems.
Democrats don’t solve problems they make them instead then they go and make them worse
Well, we have to be sure the images and reports of devastation out of Maui are not Russian disinformation! You know how pervasive that it and those pesky Russians are so afraid of powerful, authoritative, decisive idiot Biden that they might be inventing this whole incident, just like they did with Hunter’s laptop.
I wonder if Maui leans right, because Hawaii goes Democrat and is mostly far left. Well, this could be a wakeup call for them, and it is a tough way to learn a lesson. It doesn’t seem the Democrats have anything to gain out of helping the people of Maui, so they are just on their own. I saw one video where the police shut down the “unauthorized” distribution of food. So, to the people of Lahaina, “You will be totally dependent upon the government and like it, even if you starve.”
And, sadly for the Democrats, this presented another opportunity for idiot Biden to show the world what a stupid, self-absorbed moron he is.