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As wildfires raged through Los Angeles, so did the conspiracy theories and misinformation about the natural disaster on social media. This happened even as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to end its US-based fact-checking programme.
From false claims of looting to AI-generated images of the Hollywood sign engulfed in flames, fact-checking teams still working under Meta's programme scrambled to combat the surge in misleading content.
Alan Duke, co-founder of fact-checking outlet Lead Stories, warned of the dangers, saying, “Cutting fact-checkers from social platforms is like disbanding your fire department.” Mr Duke, a former CNN journalist and a Los Angeles resident, said. He said could see the fires – which killed at least 24 people – from his home as his team debunked viral made-up stories.
One Instagram video falsely claimed looters were stealing from homes amid the fires. Fact-checkers from Lead Stories clarified the video actually showed family members rescuing belongings. Meta labelled the post as misleading and reduced its reach.
PolitiFact, another fact-checking partner, tackled claims on Threads that linked the fires to political conspiracies. One viral post falsely accused MAGA supporters of setting fires, while an AI-generated image showed the Hollywood sign in flames. PolitiFact debunked both.
Partisan narratives further amplified the chaos. Incoming president Donald Trump used his platform to blame Democrats for the fires, while Elon Musk criticised diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, claiming, “DEI means people will DIE.” Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones escalated the rhetoric with baseless theories of a globalist plot, which Musk endorsed, writing, “True.”
DEI means people will DIE https://t.co/Uskn0uMMPL
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 12, 2025
The conspiracy theories echoed previous disasters like the Maui wildfires in 2023, where claims about “space lasers” were used to spread fear and distrust. Mr Duke explained to CNN the impact saying that these false claims “create distrust of emergency agencies that are actively responding to the disaster, making it more difficult for them during the crisis.”
Meta CEO Zuckerberg announced plans to replace professional fact-checkers with a community-based system similar to X's Community Notes. But unlike journalists, Community Notes users aren't bound by ethical guidelines, raising concerns about them being accurate. While some X notes have effectively flagged false posts, many conspiracy theories, like Jones' “globalist plot” claim, remain unmarked.