Is FEMA at Burning Man? Virus Outbreak Conspiracy Theory Spreads Online

After the Burning Man festival was hit by freak flooding that left attendees stranded at the Nevada desert campsite, wild conspiracy theories have emerged online claiming that the site was now subject to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance due to a virus outbreak.

Some have claimed that festivalgoers had contracted Ebola—a disease that emerged in central Africa—despite one local nurse who attended the festival denying it was the case.

The festival is held on the Black Rock Desert playa, an evaporated lake bed, around 150 miles north of Reno. According to the Reno Gazette Journal, the dust of the playa is alkaline and prolonged exposure can cause skin irritations and lung complaints, but is thought to be safe by medical experts.