“Marines caught FEMA operatives piling corpses into a mass gravesite at the Maui Forest Reserve.”
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A general view shows the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 21, 2023. (AP)
Claim that FEMA is burying Maui wildfire victims in a ‘mass gravesite’ started as satire
Wildfires that ignited across Maui County, Hawaii, have killed at least 115 people — making the fires the deadliest the United States has seen in a century.
Now, social media users are claiming Federal Emergency Management Agency employees were instructed to "discreetly bury the dead," but were "caught" in the act by the U.S. military.
"Marines caught FEMA operatives piling corpses into a mass gravesite at the Maui Forest Reserve," an Aug. 23 TikTok video that has been liked more than 335,000 times claimed.
TikTok identified this video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact's partnership with TikTok.)
Featured Fact-check
The person in the TikTok video points to an article, headlined "Military Arrests FEMA Deputy Administrator Eric Hooks," as evidence. But the article is from Real Raw News, a website that regularly publishes fabricated stories and includes a disclaimer that it "contains humor, parody and satire." PolitiFact previously debunked the headline of the same story, about the arrest.
More than 1,000 FEMA employees, including 430 search and rescue team members, are on Maui helping coordinate disaster relief. FEMA has worked alongside hundreds of Defense Department employees and military service members, including U.S. Marine Corps members, to support the community. We have debunked other claims about FEMA’s activities on Maui.
FEMA and the Marines did not immediately respond to PolitiFact’s request for comment. We found no credible news reports to back this claim.
We rate it Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
TikTok video (archived version), Aug. 23, 2023
Real Raw News, "Military Arrests FEMA Deputy Administrator Eric Hooks," Aug. 22, 2023
Real Raw News, "About Us," accessed Aug. 30, 2023
Maui Police Department, "Identities of Maui Wildfire Disaster Victims," Aug. 29, 2023
Federal Emergency Management Agency, "President Biden Comforts Survivors in Maui, FEMA Urges Caution Amid Tropical Storm Activity," Aug. 22, 2023
Department of Defense, "DOD Personnel Working With Hawaii, FEMA Officials to Speed Relief to Maui," Aug. 17, 2023
PolitiFact, "Hangings, guillotines and Gitmo: Going behind Real Raw News’ sensational (and fabricated) headlines," Sept. 24, 2021
PolitiFact, "Fabricated story fantasizes about Maui gunfight between U.S. Marine Corps and FEMA agents," Aug. 24, 2023
PolitiFact, "The military didn’t arrest FEMA Deputy Administrator Erik Hooks, despite online claims," Aug. 24, 2023
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Claim that FEMA is burying Maui wildfire victims in a ‘mass gravesite’ started as satire
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