Days into the devastating wildfires that have already killed five people and destroyed over a thousand buildings in Los Angeles, the right-wing misinformation machine is running at full speed. Thanks to Meta’s conveniently timed announcement that they’re ditching fact-checking, these lies are spreading unchecked across Facebook and Instagram. And naturally, Elon Musk’s X is a hotbed of falsehoods.
Let’s start with Trump, who couldn’t even wait for the flames to die down before launching into his greatest hits about California water management. He’s claiming Governor Gavin Newsom “refused to sign the water restoration declaration” that would have prevented this disaster. One small problem: This declaration doesn’t exist. It’s completely made up. State officials from both parties confirmed to local NBC affiliate WXII that there was never any such document.
But reality hasn’t stopped Trump’s allies from running with this narrative. Musk, James Woods, and the usual suspects are busy building an alternate universe where California’s water reservoirs are empty (they’re actually “brimming,” according to state officials), and the only reason anyone’s house burned down is because of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the fire department.
Yes, you read that right. The same people who spent years telling us climate change isn’t real are now trying to blame the fires on the fact that the L.A. Fire Department’s chief is a woman. Never mind that Kristin Crowley worked her way up through the ranks for 22 years. Never mind that the department’s leadership is still predominantly male. The right has found a way to combine their favorite bogeymen: diversity initiatives, California governance, and climate science.
Here’s what’s actually happening: Hurricane-force Santa Ana winds combined with unusually dry conditions (hello, climate change) to spread small fires at unprecedented speed. Yes, some fire hydrants failed—not because of some conspiracy about water management—but because the system was overwhelmed by simultaneous massive demands for water. The department’s firefighting aircraft couldn’t fly for several hours because of those same dangerous winds, not because they’d been sent to Ukraine (another false claim making the rounds).
This is the playbook we’re going to see for every climate disaster going forward. Rather than acknowledge the role of climate change, rather than have honest discussions about infrastructure and emergency preparedness, the right will search for ways to blame their cultural grievances. Everything becomes evidence of their preferred narrative: Hydrant failures become proof of Democratic mismanagement, female leadership becomes proof of “woke” politics gone wrong, and the actual causes get buried under an avalanche of manufactured outrage.
The timing with Meta’s announcement about ending fact-checking is fitting. Just as these fires demonstrate why we desperately need reliable information during disasters, Silicon Valley is busy dismantling the systems designed to provide it. Mark Zuckerberg calls this “getting back to our roots around free expression.” In reality, it’s about appeasing the incoming Trump administration, even if that means letting lies spread as fast as wildfire.
Meanwhile, actual Angelenos are losing their homes, their communities, and in some cases, their lives. The right’s exploitation of this tragedy isn’t just cynical—it’s dangerous. When people can’t get accurate information during disasters, when every crisis becomes fodder for culture war narratives, we all lose. Except, of course, for the people spreading the lies. They’re doing just fine.
The question isn’t whether these conspiracy theories will continue—they will. The question is whether we’ll let them distract us from the real issues: climate change, infrastructure funding, and emergency preparedness. While the right obsesses over imaginary water declarations and DEI initiatives, actual solutions get pushed aside. That’s not an accident: It’s the point.
The post The Right’s Wildfire Lies Spread Faster Than the Flames appeared first on New Republic.
