There’s no question that Russian intelligence agencies are partly behind the anti-vax and anti-mask sentiments of right-wingers. Russian information warfare operations are known to have a “living off the land” mentality, and typically act in an opportunistic manner that is far more aggressive and resourceful than US or NATO military operations.

Conservative propaganda is relatively predictable to those who have studied information warfare, so when a potentially major hurricane is approaching the US, it can be helpful to provide a primer of what to expect from Russian intelligence agencies as soon as the storm has passed.

Conspiracy theories about FEMA are catnip for the Ruby Ridge/anti-government extremist crowd, and there’s no reason to expect this time around will be any different. The intelligence agencies that are fomenting anti-vax and anti-mask conspiracy theories have recently started promoting Ivermectin to gullible conservatives, in spite of substantial health consequences if that drug is misused. Information warfare operatives appear to be engaged in an effort to test the limits of just how gullible American conservatives are, and just how ridiculus and far-fetched conspiracy theories may become before there is any push-back.

It’s pretty much guaranteed that there will be stories on Facebook insisting that FEMA camps are rounding up the unvaccinated and  forcing them to get the Covid19 vaccine under pain of death and imprisonment. Stressful situations like a major storm tend to make individuals anxious, and in their anxiety their gullibility is heightened, allowing the information warfare operator to test extremely far-flung scenarios in their conspiracy theory mongering. It is also possible that some mentally unhinged Trump supporters may engage in armed attacks on FEMA teams that are trying to assist cleanup efforts after the storm. The FBI should dispatch units to the Louisiana coast-line and keep a close eye on any individuals that are already on their radar as being January 6th sympathizers, or for having affiliations with anti-government groups.

Also don’t be surprised if there’s a return of weather based conspiracy theories about “cloud seeding” and giant fans from a few years ago. Low information conservatives aren’t capable of understanding that no machine built on a human scale can rival the power of a hurricane, so they recirculate these stories even though they are obvious nonsense.

There will almost certainly be the standard NRA “If FEMA comes to your house they’re going to arrest you and take all your guns” rants that accompany every major storm. This is a common trope of anti-government nitwits everywhere. The only difference is that now that the entire Republican Party has become a tool for amplifying ridiculous right-wing propaganda and conspiracy theories, these wild claims are likely to be circulated first through the right-wing echo chamber, and then picked up by mainstream outlets after they are accused of being “biased” by right-wing lunatics for refusing to cover such obvious nonsense.

Although the examples I’ve listed above are pretty obvious, you can never be 100% certain of what kind of wild stories Russian intelligence agencies will try to promote to gullible Trump supporters. The most important thing is to realize that whenever you hear a wild-eyed conspiracy theory from a conservative source, that  the claims are most likely fabricated, and are designed for the sole purpose of agitating stupid white people. Just because someone says something doesn’t mean it’s true, and we should not suffer fools so easily. If someone is repeating a claim that sounds like ridiculous bullshit, then they should be called out for it.