How FEMA misinformation brought criticism down on social media royalty 'Mama Tot'

A social media influencer and beloved creator on TikTok is currently the subject of controversy thanks to rising tensions around the emergency response to hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Ophelia Nichol, known better by her nickname "Mama Tot," has built a massive following with her messages of kindness and understanding. Known for her motherly and inspirational content, she has made headlines in the past, including when her son was fatally shot and killed before his 19th birthday in 2022.

With a follower count just shy of 13 million, Nichol has been something of a lifeline for her fans, providing words of affirmation, support and at times, donating large sums of money to causes, including most recently Hurricane Helene relief.

However Nichol has recently become embroiled in a controversy online, receiving backlash from some viewers who have accused her of spreading misinformation in a now-viral video.

Here's what to know about the controversy.

Who is Mama Tot?

Boasting 12.8 million followers and over 593.5 million likes on her main TikTok account, @shoelover99, Ophelia Nichol, better known online by her nickname Mama Tot, is as close as it gets to TikTok royalty.

Referring lovingly to her fans as her "Tater Tots," Nichol has built her platform on a premise of kindness, gentleness, support, advocacy for the disenfranchised and spreading joy and unconditional love. From "eat with me videos" where she sits down to have lunch while sharing inspirational messages to personal responses to fans and other creators going through hard times, Nichol's platform is often summed up as "incredibly wholesome," especially in the oftentimes brutal world of the internet.

She has also championed myriad causes in her time on the app, raising and donating money and expressing support for LGBTQ+ rights, disaster relief, personal fundraisers for medical bills, animal welfare causes and other issues.

She has posted many videos about Hurricane Helene, sharing information about resources and donations and donating $1,100 of her own money to the Cajun Army in one video posted on Oct. 4.

What is the controversy?

In an Oct. 3 video with over 5.4 million views, Nichol expressed frustration at the experiences of people affected by Hurricane Helene.

"You ain't mad!?" The just shy of one-minute clip starts. "Cause I'm mad as hell." Speaking of the victims of the disaster, Nichol said, "They have lost everything. Everything. Imagine walking outside of your house and seeing nothing that you ever worked hard for, just gone."

After sharing some of the sad news she had seen online about the storm, Nichol spoke in vague terms about issues some may have in receiving aid, the part of the video that appears to have caused the bulk of the controversy.

"How are they supposed to apply for stuff, then, if they don't have electricity? That does not get their babies fed in this moment, like. The job they had, the building is gone. Like, how is nobody mad?" she said.

The comments beneath the video have since been turned off and the post was briefly made private or deleted before being reinstated. However, posts to TikTok and other platforms like X, formerly Twitter, began appearing soon after, saying the creator was disseminating misinformation about FEMA resources to her 13 million followers.

Nichol did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Some fans also expressed disappointment that the video made them feel she may be a Trump supporter. She has since posted a video, saying "I never thought that I would ever have to say that I didn't vote for Trump. I thought people just knew that by my actions."

Plenty of other creators and viewers defended her, however. Though it appears she has lost an estimated 100,000 followers, Nichol's large and dedicated fan base also came out in huge waves, expressing support and creating video responses to her accusers.

Many of her supporters made the point not only that Nichol never explicitly said anything about FEMA or politics in her post, but that she has historically put money where her mouth is by donating to and supporting causes, including disaster relief.

Mama Tot responds to backlash

In a response posted Oct. 6, Nichol addressed the backlash that had been rapidly growing online. Specifically, she made the point that she felt people had run with wild assumptions based on a clip that did not explicitly express any such political messaging.“I have been on this app since 2020, and I’ve loved on people the entire time,” she said in the 6-minute video. “And not one time have I ever used my platform for politics, for any of that stuff. Cause, for one, people don't know how to talk to one another when it comes to politics. They just don't. They hate you if you don't agree."

She explained that the video was a moment of her expressing sadness over the tragedy and what people of the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida are experiencing. Never, she said, did comments about the government's response come into play.

"In that video, I never said anything about politics, FEMA, money, the government, presidents, never said anything about those things," she said. "None of that. I just expressed just how frustrating and sad and angry I was that they gotta go through this."

In another video posted Monday, she spoke with more clarity on the subject, saying that she did not realize when posting the original clip that it could be taken in a negative way and saying she was frustrated to see people lying about what she did say.

She also said that it's possible people were saying such things in the comment section and her detractors erroneously intertwined her message with said comments. She likewise wondered if people were lumping her in with other creators she is not associated with who were spreading such messages.

"I haven't said those things at all. And people have accused me of everything," she said.

She has since continued posting her normal content about lifestyle, food, shopping and positive affirmations to her audience. She has also posted several more videos about different forms of relief people looking to help Helene victims can provide through donations or volunteering.

Debunking FEMA misinformation

Rumors and misinformation about federal support around hurricane relief have proliferated on social media and beyond since Helene hit, with some of the false claims being spread by former president Donald Trump.

FEMA has since launched an entire webpage addressing these rumors, which include allegations that there are “no helicopters, no rescue” in North Carolina and that the federal government is only giving $750 to those who have lost their homes.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell pushed back Trump's claims about Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, saying she was disappointed in the misinformation he was spreading.

Contributing: Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY.