Texas officials have issued public apologies after a widely shared story about two young girls being miraculously rescued from a tree in the Kerr County flash flood zone turned out to be false, highlighting how misinformation can spread rapidly during disasters.
The July 4 flash floods that struck Central Texas have devastated communities like Hunt and Kerrville, killing at least 82 people and leaving dozens missing. In the chaos and desperation for hopeful news, an Austin-based volunteer named Cord Shiflet posted on Facebook that two missing girls had been found 30 feet up a tree alive, according to CNN.
