Pretty messed up…
The Texas community is in the midst of tragedy as search efforts to find missing people from the July 4th flash flooding are still underway. The death toll has surpassed 80 at the time of writing, with over two dozen of those deaths being campers and counselors from the girls’ camp, Camp Mystic. Another sad loss from Camp Mystic was the news that Dick Eastland, the longtime owner and director of Camp Mystic, gave his life while trying to save campers.
As families become worried they may never be reunited with their children, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has assured families that the missing campers are a top priority in search and rescue efforts.
“We will remain 100% dedicated, searching for every single one of the children who were at Camp Mystic as well as anybody else in the entire riverbed to make sure that they’re going to be recovered.”
Since the flash flooding, the country music community has banded together, starting fundraisers, pledging their own funds, and organizing benefit shows to help the affected communities as they rebuild. We’ve seen posts from Randy Rogers Band, Josh Abbott, and Robert Earl Keen showing their support and shared heartache for those suffering loss.
Miranda Lambert is also showing support for the shelters and displaced animals from the flooding through her MuttNation Foundation. While ensuring loved ones are safe is a top priority, the shelters are also suffering. It’s incredible to see country stars consider all aspects of the community.
It’s safe to say that the response from the country music world has been incredible thus far, and I know this is just the start of the support we will see from country music stars as needs are better identified. Because of this reaction, country fans were thrilled to see a headline emerge that the King of Country Music had stepped up, pledging an astonishing amount toward relief efforts.
George Strait was reported to have donated $3.5 million to his home state of Texas.
I mean, that’s incredible, right? Except it’s not true. A news outlet, called 7 Media, fabricated a headline (archived here), shared the story with an article reporting:
“In the wake of the tragedy, country music legend George Strait, long known for his humility and guarded personal life, made a rare public gesture of solidarity. The King of Country donated a staggering $3.5 million to aid flood victims and help families still searching for loved ones swept away in the torrents….
George Strait’s team confirmed on Friday that the singer personally pledged $3.5 million to support immediate relief efforts, including search and rescue operations, temporary housing, food programs, and counseling services for grieving families.”
The story was compelling, and given that Strait is a proud Texan through and through, it does not feel like a reach that he would donate. However, the massive number for that donation feels a little high. I mean, Dolly Parton donated $2 million during Hurricane Helene, which was a combination of her own money and donations from her foundations as well. Hence, it’s not naive to think that The King could pull something off like this, too, because of his successful career.
However, no major news outlets covered this massive news, which raised some questions. George Strait is a prominent figure in both the country scene and beyond, so it’s unusual for outlets like Yahoo! or People to overlook this massive donation.
Lead Stories investigated the post and contacted Strait’s team to fact-check the story. Lead Stories also reported that a publicist from Strait’s team told the outlet in an email that the headline was “fake news.”
George Strait has not published any news on his website about how he is supporting Texas during this time, but I am sure he will rise to the occasion in some way, or is quietly supporting relief funds.
Given the tragedies families have suffered over the last few days, and while some have yet to be reunited with their loved ones, it feels very inconsiderate to publish a headline like this that is not factual.
We continue to pray for those impacted by the flooding across South and Central Texas.
