Social media has emerged as a powerful communication channel, potentially shaping public discourse and influencing the decision-making of government agencies, private sections, and individuals. This study focuses on exploring the role of social media discourse in informing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) decision-making during and after natural disasters. Specifically, we examine how social media activities, particularly from disaster-affected areas, impact FEMA’s funding decisions using a dataset compiled from various sources. By analyzing the geographic features of social media discourse, we aim to uncover the dynamics of social media activities and government agencies’ funding decisions. Instrumental variable regression is used to address the potential endogeneity issues. This study has the potential to offer insights for policymakers, emergency management professionals, and social media strategists in leveraging digital communications to optimize the response to natural disasters and improve the efficiency and fairness of resource allocation.