Right-wing disinformation targets DEI, 'liberal' policies as LA burns

by Manon JACOB

Months of dry weather and recent strong winds created optimal conditions for the deadly wildfires engulfing Los Angeles, but narratives on social media falsely single out "liberal" policies -- including those to increase diversity in the city's fire force -- as the culprit.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, who was appointed in 2022 after two decades of service, was singled out in a series of X posts blaming her department's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy.

"She boasts about being the first female and LGBTQ fire chief in the LA Fire Department. Promoting a culture of DEI is her priority. Does this make you feel safer?" the anti-LGBTQ account Libs of TikTok posted on January 8 on X.

"They prioritized DEI over saving lives and homes," X's billionaire owner Elon Musk, a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, chimed in.

But experts say such scapegoating is hardly unexpected.

From the Maui fires in 2023 and hurricanes Milton and Helene in 2024, every recent major natural disaster in the United States has systematically triggered social media narratives questioning the effort and legitimacy of first responders.

"This rhetoric is expected -- and has become increasingly mainstreamed -- following extreme weather phenomena and disasters," added Sara Aniano, a disinformation analyst at the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism.

- Trump effect -

Social media users also attacked California Governor Gavin Newsom, echoing misleading complaints from Trump about how the state handles its water supply.

"Governor Gavin Newscum should immediately go to Northern California and open up the water main, and let the water flow into his dry, starving, burning State," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, using his preferred nickname for the leader.

But most Los Angeles water comes from the city's aqueduct, not Northern California.

At a White House briefing, U.S. President Joe Biden pushed back against Trump's accusations that California authorities have wasted water and said there was no room for politics in the situation.

He called for officials to be "honest" and "straightforward" with the public about the available capacity.

Trump also tried to blame a lack of water on environmentalists' efforts to protect the smelt -- a small fish that lives hundreds of miles away from the fires.

Such comments are a distraction from known impacts on the fires, such as the Santa Ana winds, and the fact that fire events in the state have been enhanced by a changing climate.

Scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather patterns and changing how wildfires impact the US West.

Southern California had two decades of drought that were followed by two exceptionally wet years that sparked furious vegetative growth. Then the region had no significant rain for eight months. Altogether, the weather left the area packed with fuel and primed to burn.

Nearly 180,000 people across Los Angeles remain under evacuation orders, and at least five people have died, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Authorities continue to investigate the causes of the two main fires –- Palisades and Eaton –- with no evidence to support social media claims pinning blame on the homeless population or "ecoterrorists."

Such false narratives "undercut the people and organizations trying to help" and "sow division within the community," said Sarah Labowitz, a climate and geopolitics expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"It's the exact opposite of what keeps people safe and ready to recover."

© Agence France-Presse