In a tweet that’s now been shared nearly a quarter million times, former President Barack Obama directed folks to donate to the Red Cross in the wake of Hurricane Harvey:
Thank you to all the first responders and people helping each other out. That's what we do as Americans. Here's one way you can help now. https://t.co/iGfE8rAoAu
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 27, 2017
But is that really the best place to donate money? Maybe not.
Here’s a must-read thread from ProPublica on their multi-year investigation of the Red Cross and the charity’s response to Katina, Sandy and Haiti. In summary, it’s not good:
1/ #Harvey has devastated Texas. In time of devastation, people give to disaster relief. And so let’s talk about the @RedCross for a second.
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
2/ You maybe saw the @BarackObama tweet telling people to give to the @RedCross. https://t.co/kdQxDf0HK6
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
3/ However, WaPo reported that folks are urging people to donate for #Harvey relief… just not to the @RedCross: https://t.co/lThhppeBZc
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
4/ Things haven’t been going too well for the charity so far: https://t.co/dNGPP424mD pic.twitter.com/sdp30U9EZC
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
5/ This is not a shock to us. Why? Let’s go through this all again:
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
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6/ A few years ago, we started looking into how millions in Sandy donations were spent. They wouldn’t tell us. https://t.co/RVRXA5pykP
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
7/ We kept reporting and got here: the @redcross botched its response to Superstorm Sandy and put PR over victims. https://t.co/fCNyKoJtEI
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
8/ 8 months later, we reported that the @RedCross raised a half billion dollars for Haiti & built 6 homes. Just six. https://t.co/ed9lyYMnX9
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
9/ Then it failed in Louisiana: https://t.co/S9eM4833ss
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
10/ Then it stumbled in Mississippi: https://t.co/U5VLecJcuO
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
11/ @RedCross has also serially misled donors on how much $$ goes to disaster relief. It’s not 91 cents per dollar: https://t.co/89o26rOYmN
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
12/ A gov't investigation started looking into the charity’s disaster response/oversight. Its CEO tried to spike it: https://t.co/T3Rp8sEuD4
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
13/ Then a blistering Senate report said @RedCross CEO made false statements to Congress. https://t.co/EbRmguUssb
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
14/ Even internally, trust appears to be an issue: only 35% of employees said they trust @RedCross leadership: https://t.co/n0vhU1z8Qn
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
15/ And now #Harvey has dumped trillions of gallons of water on Houston and the @RedCross may be stumbling again: https://t.co/dNGPP424mD
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
16/ So we’re on it. But also need your help. In response to #Harvey, how’s the @RedCross doing? Have any tips? Email RedCross@propublica.org pic.twitter.com/ICsc6M2t0w
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
17/17 Finally, if you are looking to donate to disaster relief, read this first: https://t.co/Zmhzgb3tu2
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 30, 2017
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