As fires ravage the LA region, so too are conspiracy theories and misinformation

The thing with social media platforms is misinformation can spread as fast as the fires currently burning across the L.A. region. Hot off the announcement that Meta is doing away with fact checkers, social media has been ablaze with conspiracy theories and AI generated images and videos.

The Department of Homeland Security says scammers take advantage of disasters and emergency situations “to further an ulterior agenda” by playing on people’s emotions and using trending algorithms for “hijacking conversations and financial scams.”

Kristina Lerman, a research professor at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering who specializes in misinformation, AI and how people communicate in digital spaces, said during times of crises  everybody's talking about the same thing so it gives opportunities for people to push their misinformation.

“They use these opportunities, times of crisis, to push their agendas through propaganda,” she said. “They would take one grain of truth, and then they would twist it to fit the narrative, to promote their own specific narrative that they want to push.”

Cailin O'Connor, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, said sometimes when misinformation spreads, people can act on it, which could have consequences during an emergency situation.

" There's also kind of emotional impacts where sometimes people are upset or scared about things that they don't need to be because of misinformation spreading about something that's so scary and serious," she said.

LAist sorted through the fact and fiction for you regarding some of the misinformation that has cropped up recently:

• Should you book a ticket to L.A. to aid in clean up?

No, there is a false post making the rounds on Facebook asking people to come to California to aid in the cleanup of areas affected by the fires. CalFire officials say this is false and “there is no such opportunity available.”

• Are fire crews from South Africa aiding in the firefighting efforts?

No. A video circulating on social media shows firefighters from South Africa landing at a Canadian airport while supposedly enroute to Los Angeles. The video was from 2023 when South African crews aided in firefights in Mexico.

• Were Oregon firefighters turned away because their equipment did not pass emission tests?

No. They were not turned away and their equipment did pass safety checks. Oregon firefighters joined in the L.A. firefight Friday morning.  ”The L.A. County Fire Department has never turned down any offers for mutual aid assistance and resources,” L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a news conference Monday.

• Did fire crews actually use handbags to put out the fire?

On the contrary, those bags in the videos circulating online are canvas bags, an LAFD spokesperson told CBS News. Canvas bags are a common tool used by first responders to put out smaller flames — an easier response than pulling out a hose.

• Did the Hollywood sign burn? Was a neighborhood mosque the only structure left standing?

WhatsApp messages a reporter received to verify a video doing the rounds.

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Yusra Farzan

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No and no. The image of the Hollywood sign on fire is AI generated and the mosque in question is in Indonesia. Want to fact check content forwarded to you? You can use Google Reverse Image Search.

• Is Gov. Gavin Newsom going to work with property developers to rebuild Pacific Palisades into apartments instead of single family homes?

No, Newsom took to X to refute those claims. And changes to zoning fall under the purview of city governments, not the state.

• Why didn’t Newsom sign the "water restoration" declaration?

There is no water restoration declaration, despite what President-elect Donald Trump said. Read more here.

• Why did the water hydrants in Pacific Palisades run dry?

They didn’t. Pressure in those water hydrants was reduced as demand for water – four times than normal – increased. My colleague Kevin Tidmarsh has a great explainer here.

• More brush clearance could have helped prevent the Palisades Fire, why wasn’t it done?

Even if the excess vegetation was cleared, there was no stopping the powerful winds that fueled the spread of the wildfires. The winds could cast embers more than a mile away, making containing the spread impossible, my colleague Jacob Margolis writes.

• Can I donate to the L.A. County Fire Department via links I found online?

No, the L.A. County Fire Department is currently not accepting online donations as they do not have a system in place to accept them.  "We have staff working on a process to accept donations over the internet for our L.A. County Fire Department," said L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone. "I ask that those wanting to donate hold off until we have a process established that will guarantee the funds benefit our personnel."

• I am seeing reports online about how the L.A. Fire Department prioritized DEI efforts in the last few years and that's why the wildfires caused so much destruction. Is this true?

L.A. Fire Department is headed by a gay woman, Kristin Crowley. As our friends at NPR write, partisan politics during a crisis is used to drive engagement online.

"The story is something like this: We as a society used to hire on the basis of competence and meritocracy. But that system has been hijacked by powerful minorities," Ian Haney López, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley and the author "Dog Whistle Politics" told NPR.

• How can I get a permit for expedited reentry into Malibu?

You can't get one because they don't exist. The city of Malibu said people are not currently allowed into evacuation zones, neither are private contractors. If people need to check on a pet or obtain medication, they can call the city at (310) 456-2489.

• I have heard the billionaire owners of The Wonderful Company, Stewart and Lynda Resnick own most of the water in California. Is this true?

Stephanie Pincetl, director of the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA, told NPR that they do use a lot of the state's water, but it is not "distinct and not germane to the problem" of battling wildfires.

• Are we running out of water to fight the wildfires?

We are not. Local reservoirs have enough water to aid firefights. " There's way more water in local storage than you could ever fight a fire with," Marty Adams, former general manager and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, told NPR.

• Did mansions belonging to Ukrainian military officers burn down in the fire?

No, that was misinformation pushed by pro-Kremlin accounts. "It is the latest in a long string of assertions by Russian officials, media, and the pro-Kremlin online ecosystem that Ukrainian officials are corrupt and use foreign aid money to enrich themselves." Léa Ronzaud, a senior investigator at research firm Graphika, told NPR.

• California has stringent environmental policies. Did those cause the wildfires?

No, this is a claim by people like Elon Musk doing the rounds on social media. Experts from UCLA's Law School Emmett Institute say the regulations help rather than hurt California. The L.A. Municipal Code requires homeowners to clear brush that could pose fire risk from near their property. The state also passed a law in 2020 requiring homeowners to create a 5-foot fire resistant buffer zone around their property. That law hasn't been formally enforced as some homeowners are resistant to the change because they don't find it aesthetically pleasing.

How to be a fact checker

Lerman and O'Connor shared some tips that people can use to sift through all the information:

• Take a moment to verify. Turn to other people in your social circles, the media or government officials to verify claims. For example, when the false alarm evacuation texts were sent out, a call to the local police station confirmed that it was indeed false. 
• Check your source. If the message has a political bias, ask whose agenda it could be serving. “ Anything that's linked to the blame game right now, like blaming somebody as being responsible for it, that's a sure sign that's actually being used for propaganda purposes and not to convey relevant information,” Lerman said.  Some of the best information comes from those who have vast experience and background on topics. “If it’s an online influencer, like a fashion influencer or celebrity or even a politician from outside of the state who really is not addressing the wildfires directly, then be skeptical about the information they are promoting because they could have some hidden agenda behind it.”
• Check if an image is AI generated — a tall tale sign is misplaced text or inaccuracies. For example, the viral photo of the Hollywood sign on fire had an extra L in “Hollywood.”
• Slow down. O'Connor said take a moment to pause before sharing information. Sometimes just stopping to think through what you are about to share can help distinguish whether it is false or not.

This story will be updated as more misinformation is spotted.