The L.A. Fires Have Started a Misinformation Storm
Thanks to an aggressive dry season and hurricane-force winds, Los Angeles is experiencing the most devastating fires in the city’s history. At least five people have died and over 130,000 residents in Southern California are under evacuation orders, according to the Los Angeles Times. L.A officials have said at least 2,000 structures have been burned and, per California Gov. Gavin Newsom, over 7,500 fire personnel have been deployed to battle the blaze. Even residents whose homes are safe for now must contend with dangerous smoke conditions, hazy skies, and falling ash. L.A officials believe the death toll will rise as the two largest fires remain at zero-percent containment.
But online, as L.A. residents share mutual aid links, rescue efforts, and pleas for help, the fires are a ripe topic for misinformation and conspiracy theories.
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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
With less than two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, Republican leaders and pundits have maintained much of the rhetoric that thrived during the 2024 election cycle, blaming the fire on diversity, equity, and inclusion measures the city has taken in recent years. Elon Musk shared a post blaming Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley’s diversity initiatives for the spread of the fire, writing, “DEI means people DIE.”
The sentiment was echoed by former Fox host and conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly. “In recent years, L.A.’s fire chief has made not filling the fire hydrants top priority, but diversity,” Kelly said Wednesday. “Who gives a shit if the fire chief is gay. I’m sorry, but who gives a flying fig about who she likes to sleep with, can you fight the fucking fires, madam? That’s the relevant question.” But while L.A officials have said the firefighters have been outmatched by the flames, there’s no evidence that the LAFD were lacking in able firefighters because of the DEI initiatives.
The Governor
Trump has also managed to blame the blaze on the Biden administration and California’s liberal leaders — Newsom specifically. “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
But according to water policy experts and Newsom’s office, the water restoration declaration Trump referred to doesn’t exist. When speaking to reporters, Newsom urged Trump to focus on the real issues. “My message to the incoming administration, and I’m not here to play any politics, is please don’t play any politics,” he said Thursday.
Sean “Diddy” Combs
On TikTok, much of the discussion around the fires has remained fixated on conspiracy theories surrounding rapper and media mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. Combs was arrested Sept. 16, and pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges after a deluge of civil suits and accusations of sexual assault, physical violence, and abuse. (Combs has repeatedly denied the accusations.) Following his arrest, internet users spread wild theories that famous Hollywood actors, producers, and stars were all involved. There were claims that investigators found an underground tunnel connecting Combs’ house to the Playboy mansion nearby, which police could not find evidence for. Now, as the fires grow, a theory that the Palisades fire was started — and will continue — in order to destroy evidence in the Combs case has continued to spread. Several TikTok creators have said the fires were started to purposefully destroy the “Diddy tunnels,” while others argue that the fact that so many celebrity homes were damaged or outright destroyed proves Hollywood is trying to protect their biggest stars. Besides the fact that the case against Combs is ongoing, many of these theories do not take into account that there are not-famous people who live in L.A. whose homes are also being destroyed.
Alex Jones Can’t Stop Talking
Disinformation superstar Alex Jones has also focused his attention on the L.A fires — using X (formerly Twitter) to spread claims that the entire blaze was planned by political operatives in order to wreak havoc on the United States. “Los Angeles Fires Are Part Of A Larger Globalist Plot To Wage Economic Warfare & Deindustrialize The Untied States Before Triggering Total Collapse,” he posted on X, calling L.A officials’ response “administrative terrorism. Besides the fact that there is no evidence that any L.A government official purposefully started the fires — frankly a preposterous claim — most of Jones’ attempts at blame seem to draw in more viewers rather than address any real issues amid L.A’s disaster. He’s not the only one to go off the deep end with his theories — one user on X suggested that a camera cutting to Danielle Fischer, the actress who played Topanga in Boy Meets World, at a UFC event the night before the fires started near Topanga Canyon was a clue that it was all planned. One would hope that’s someone trolling, though.
Looting Concerns
As L.A residents continue to evacuate their homes over threat of fire or decreasing air quality, officials have increased their threats against looters who might target empty homes. “In the midst of the emergency, we have all seen individuals who are targeting vulnerable communities by burglarizing and looting homes. This is simply unacceptable,” Kathryn Barger, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said Thursday. “I promise you, you will be held accountable. Shame on those who are preying on our residents during this time of crisis.” However, much of the rhetoric online around looters seems steeped in racist sentiment. In one viral tweet, which was deleted but has been continued to be reposted by meme accounts, an X user accused several men in a video of breaking in and looting a home. But they weren’t looters — the video was from a local news channel KLTA segment and showed a homeowner being evacuated by friends and family. And while officials maintain they will crack down on looters, the idea of the problem being widespread simply isn’t supported by any evidence that’s been shared. According to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, at least 20 people have been arrested on suspicion of burglary, NBC News reports. The population of L.A.? Over 3 million.
Fire Department Budgets
On Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram, users have railed at the local bureaucracy for cutting the Los Angeles Fire Department budget months before the deadly fires by $17.6 million. Fox News also criticized city officials for passing a budget that “prioritized” the homeless population of the city. But according to reporting from Mother Jones, the widely spread statistic that the LAFD budget was slashed to fund an increase in police budget doesn’t take into account budget cycles. According to the magazine, firefighter salaries have risen in 2024, and the budget cut made up only two percent of the LAFD’s budget. Politico also reported that extra funds for the LAFD were set aside because the department was in the process of negotiating a new contract with the city. Mayor Karen Bass pushed back against claims that the budget was to blame for the fire’s spread. “I think if you go back and look at the reductions that have been made, there were no reductions that would have impacted the situation we were dealing with over the last couple of days,” she said Thursday. California Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman also told CNN that the decreased part of the LAFD budget was around training staff in 2025 — nothing to do with current operation. “These cuts, I think, will be reversed, and should be, and they were perhaps ill-advised,” he said. “But they’re not a reason why the Palisades have suffered.”
It seems like every political pundit and social media commenter has found someone to blame — the secret Hollywood elite, a water policy that doesn’t exist, misappropriated funds — yet very few supporters of conspiracy theories and misinformation have focused on a very real reason for the fires. Wildfire season varies in L.A., and extreme drought conditions made the brush extremely susceptible to sparks. Add in the Santa Ana winds, which have spread flames at close to 100 mph, and it’s abundantly clear that this natural disaster has a natural answer: climate change. But instead, right-wing politicians seem dedicated to ignoring or outright denying climate change has anything to do with the increasing rate of natural disasters the United States and other parts of the world are facing. Climate change isn’t a theory. It’s here — and currently the cause for the massive flames cutting a raging swath through L.A. Maybe instead of spreading around accusations, rumors, or baseless conspiracy theories, the best way to help people on the ground is to work to fix the problem right in front of us.
This story was updated on Jan. 10 at 11:50 a.m. ET.
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