Claim:
Following Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton in October 2024, Kid Rock shipped millions of dollars worth of supplies to areas impacted by the disasters.
Rating:
Labeled Satire ( About this rating? )
A rumor that musician Kid Rock shipped "millions of dollars worth of supplies" to areas impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton circulated online in October 2024. A Facebook post promoting the alleged charity effort added, "Taylor Swift is nowhere to be found."
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as fact. One user commented, "Now there's a good man [...]" Another Facebook user who shared the rumor said , "Doesn't take a lot to show patriotism. Proven fact."
(America - Love It or Leave It Facebook page)
An article by Dunning-Kruger Times expanded on the claim, saying:
Our sources tell us he's heading to North Carolina whether FEMA likes it or not to deliver millions in relief and supplies to the people affected by Hurricane Helene… Taylor Swift, on the other hand, has done nothing to help.
However, there was no evidence of Kid Rock donating any supplies to hurricane relief efforts — much less "millions of dollars worth" — and no credible news outlets reported on the alleged donation.
The rumor originated with the article by Dunning-Kruger Times and the abovre-mentioned Facebook post, which was authored by America - Love It or Leave It. That Facebook group and Dunning-Kruger Times are part of a network of websites and social media pages that describes its output as being humorous and satirical in nature, America's Last Line of Defense.
The thumbnail in the Facebook post has a "satire" label. Also, the introduction on its author's page reads: "A subsidiary of the America's Last Line of Defense network of trollery. Nothing on this page is real."
Meanwhile, the "About Us" section of Dunning-Kruger Times states, "Everything on this website is fiction."
As far as Taylor Swift's role in hurricane recovery efforts, she donated $5 million to Feeding America, a nonprofit that operates food banks, to help victims of the October 2024 storms. The nonprofit announced her donation on Instagram .
The fictional story about Kid Rock spread as officials evaluated the impact of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton in the southeastern U.S. Snopes has fact-checked a variety of claims related to the storms, including the assertions FEMA is supposedly running out of money due to migrant aid and Hurricane Milton is being renamed for Transgender Awareness Month .
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims created by the America's Last Line of Defense network in the past, including the assertions Walmart canceled a Taylor Swift clothing line due to her endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris , the cost of bread in California went up to $11 because of a minimum-wage increase and the NFL "ruled" that there is only one national anthem .
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
Sources:
Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/DA6s565tofH/ . Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
Rosenbloom, Alli. "Taylor Swift Donates $5 Million toward Relief Efforts in Wake of Hurricanes Milton and Helene." CNN, 9 Oct. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/09/entertainment/taylor-swift-donation-hurricane-relief/index.html.
Local News
