Right-wing Disinformation Targets DEI, ‘Liberal’ Policies as LA Burns

AFP/APP

Washington: Months of dry weather and recent strong winds have created optimal conditions for the deadly wildfires engulfing Los Angeles, but narratives on social media falsely blame “liberal” policies – including those to increase diversity in the city’s fire force – for the disaster.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, 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,” tweeted X’s billionaire owner Elon Musk, a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump.

But experts say such scapegoating is not surprising. From the Maui fires in 2023 to hurricanes Milton and Helene in 2024, every recent major natural disaster in the United States has sparked social media narratives questioning the legitimacy and effectiveness of first responders.

“This rhetoric is expected – and has become increasingly mainstreamed – following extreme weather phenomena and disasters,” said 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.

However, most of Los Angeles’ water comes from the city’s aqueduct, not Northern California. At a White House briefing, US President Joe Biden pushed back against Trump’s accusations, saying there was no room for politics in the situation.

He urged officials to be “honest” and “straightforward” with the public about the available water capacity.

Trump also attempted to blame environmentalists’ efforts to protect the smelt – a small fish living far from the fires – for the water shortage. These comments detract from the true causes of the fires, such as the Santa Ana winds and the broader impacts of climate change.

Scientists note that human-caused climate change is altering weather patterns and exacerbating the intensity of wildfires in the US West.

Southern California endured two decades of drought, followed by two unusually wet years that sparked intense vegetative growth. After that, the region experienced eight months without significant rainfall, leaving it primed for fires.

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

Authorities are still investigating the causes of the two main fires – Palisades and Eaton – with no evidence to support social media claims that the fires were caused by homeless people 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.”