Left-Wing Outlets Spread False Story Claiming GOP Official Turned Down Disaster Aid

A number of left-wing outlets spread a false story claiming Texas Republican Secretary of State Rolando Pablos turned down aid in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, and instead requested prayers.

The story appears to have spread from one sentence in an article from Canada's CBC News. The story referenced an offer from the Canadian province of Quebec to send Texas "equipment and crews to help restore power and to provide blankets, beds, pillows and hygienic products."

"Pablos declined the aid for now, instead asking for ‘prayers from the people of Quebec,'" the article quotes Quebec's International Relations Minister Christine St-Pierre to have said. "He was very touched by the fact we called him."

The story was subsequently picked up by atheist bloggers, such as Patheos' "Friendly Atheist" Hemant Mehta. "Take the help, Texas. If God could help, He would’ve blown the hurricane away before it hit land," Mehta mocked.

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