In the aftermath of a natural disaster - a major hurricane, a damaging flood, a devastating wildfire - help quickly arrives from first responders and government officials.
But a new story from 60 Minutes featuring Graphika found that among the people offering assistance are "Disaster Tourists" made up of white nationalists and other extremists.
Their goal? To use content they're sharing online to increase their following and boost their image.
Graphika's Executive Chairman and founder Dr. John Kelly sat down with 60 Minutes Correspondent Lesley Stahl as part of the powerful investigation into how online networks can shape perception of real-world events. As highlighted in the reporting, moments of crisis create rare, high-attention environments— making them especially vulnerable to manipulation.
"I think white nationalists are interested in natural disasters because everybody is interested in natural disasters," Kelly told Stahl. "There are very few things that bring the public's attention to focus on one thing in unison and natural disasters is one of those."
Kelly unpacked a growing pattern: extremist groups exploiting natural disasters to spread narratives, build influence, and reach new audiences.
"That's one of the things that characterizes the current groups is that they've kind of decided to leave the more triggering iconography in the closet, and try to appeal to a more mainstream audience," he shared.
Graphika's analysis for the story showed how these networks operate across platforms— blending coordinated messaging, conspiracy theories, and even AI-generated content to amplify their reach and impact in the process.
What the coverage surfaces is part of a broader pattern: how narratives take shape and spread in moments of high attention and why organizations need visibility into these dynamics before they escalate.
Understanding of this kind of online activity what Graphika’s Decision Intelligence Platform is designed to uncover - how narratives are evolving, where they're coming from, and what's driving their impact. To learn how Graphika can help your organization, book a demo with our team and hear more about how it works.