As Los Angeles firefighters battle the ongoing blazes, prominent right-wing figures are criticizing the response with bigotry and pointing out who is to blame for the fires being more ferocious due to diversity within the fire department. Spreading lies about something.
This misinformation echoes the claims that plagued North Carolina’s hurricane response. Both disasters sparked outrage, were used by partisan groups to further their own political goals, and disrupted an already chaotic information ecosystem associated with fast-moving news events.
As a common theme, right-wing media outlets and commentators say diversity within the Los Angeles Fire Department is to blame for the disaster.
TikTok’s X account Libs, known for spreading anti-LBGTQ+ rhetoric, posted, “Meet Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley.” “She is proud to be the Los Angeles Fire Department’s first female and LGBTQ fire chief. Promoting a culture of DEI is a priority for her. Does this make you feel safer?” The same account, which has around 4 million followers, wrote in another tweet: “DEI kills people. DEI must die.”
Much of the misinformation includes misguided claims by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The spread of rumors, misinformation, and lies can hinder the ability of emergency responders to do their jobs and confuse residents who need accurate, up-to-date information to make choices to protect themselves. Furthermore, when lies are mixed with legitimate criticism, it becomes even more difficult for the public to judge whether public officials need accountability.
False claims that federal disaster relief funds are being diverted to immigrants have also resurfaced. Criticism of environmental practices, such as protecting fish over humans and restricting prescribed burns, has grown. Unrelated donations to Ukraine became the scapegoat. The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has hinted that donations the Los Angeles Fire Department sent to Ukraine in 2022 were somehow connected to the response.
People across the political spectrum, including Los Angeles Times publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong, have claimed that fire department budgets have been slashed, but Politico notes that this has not been the case.
Deflection of the role the climate crisis plays in increasing natural disasters receives millions of views.
TikTok’s Libs account made various right-wing criticisms in one post about X. “Climate change appoints DEI employees to run fire departments, gifts firefighting equipment to Ukraine, prevents serious controlled burns, defunds fire departments, refuses to build more reservoirs and store water; Cut fire insurance, neglect forest and bush management, and fire firefighters for refusing experimental vaccines?”
Elon Musk, the owner of Company X and a frequent propagator of misinformation, claimed that “they prioritized DEI over saving lives and homes.” In a reply to Libs on TikTok, he wrote: “Outlandish theory: maybe, just maybe, the root cause is not climate change?”
Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona told Newsmax that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) diverted funds to immigrants rather than natural disasters, a claim he made in the aftermath of the North Carolina hurricane. It has been proven wrong many times.
Alex Jones, the man behind Infowars and a prolific propagator of lies, went further, claiming that Joe Biden had called off plans to put out the fires and that the fires were part of a “globalist conspiracy to wage economic war.” erroneously posted that the fire was being spread “intentionally.” ” In a now-deleted tweet, Musk simply replied, “It’s true.”
