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Video shows shelters in Hawaii, California, not FEMA 'concentration camp' | Fact check

Chris Mueller
USA TODAY

The claim: Video shows FEMA 'concentration camp' in Hawaii

A Sept. 14 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) shows a series of clips of small shelters that appear to be organized into camps. A narrator at one point claims pipes visible on the sides of some of these shelters could be used to "easily pump noxious or incapacitating gas."

"Hawaii news on strange concentration camp," reads text in the video.

The video's caption labels them "FEMA camps," a reference to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The video was shared more than 3,000 times in three weeks.

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Our rating: False

The video shows clips of different housing projects that are unrelated to the Maui wildfire or FEMA. One clip shows a "tiny home" community in Hawaii while another shows a transitional living facility in California. A spokesperson for FEMA said the claim is false.

FEMA hasn't built any housing following Maui wildfire

Some residents of Lahaina, a historic community on the Hawaiian island of Maui, were allowed to return to their neighborhoods in late September, more than a month after deadly wildfires devastated the area.

There is no evidence, though, that FEMA built shelters or organized camps in the aftermath of the disaster.

FEMA spokesperson Jeremy Edwards said the video's claim that the agency built a "concentration camp" in Hawaii is "categorically false."

"Specifically, FEMA has not built any housing to date for Maui wildfire survivors in Hawaii," Edwards told USA TODAY. "Wildfire survivors are currently being provided housing in hotels and other privately owned lodging on Maui by the American Red Cross in coordination with the state of Hawaii and financed by FEMA."

The Facebook video begins with a clip from KITV, a local news station in Honolulu, that shows Kamaoku Kauhale, a "tiny home" community on the Hawaiian island of Oahu built for people experiencing homelessness, particularly veterans. It opened to residents in April 2022, more than a year before the wildfire.

Cindy Monticue, a spokesperson for U.S. Vets, the organization that manages the community, told the Associated Press that the project wasn't affiliated with FEMA.

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The video continues with a clip from KNSD, a local news station in San Diego, that shows Chula Vista Village, a transitional housing facility in Chula Vista, a city south of San Diego.

Michele Clock, a spokesperson for the city, told USA TODAY that FEMA was not involved in building or financing the community, which opened in May.

"The shelter is being used for its intended purpose to help unsheltered individuals in our community receive the services they need to return to the workforce and eventually permanent housing," she said.

While the video's narrator claims the pipes outside the shelters could be used by “nefarious officials to easily pump noxious or incapacitating gas," Clock said the pipes supply water for a sprinkler system used in case of fires.

The rest of the Facebook video is made up of clips that also appear in a Rumble video posted by an account called "Tim Truth." The video appears to be documenting Australian quarantine facilities and at one point shows text in the video that reads, "Inside An Australia Hotel Covid Camp." There is no evidence those facilities have anything to do with FEMA.

The Associated Press and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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