California governor spars with Musk over wildfire 'lies'

9:22 pm on 14 January 2025

By Anuj Chopra, AFP

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 8: California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tour the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades as the Palisades Fire continues to burn on January 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, the Palisades Fire has grown to over 2,900 acres and 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate while a second major fire continues to burn near Eaton Canyon in Altadena.   Eric Thayer/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Eric Thayer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass touring the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades as the Palisades Fire continue to burn. Photo: ERIC THAYER / AFP

California governor Gavin Newsom has accused tech billionaire Elon Musk of spreading "lies" about the state's response to deadly wildfires ravaging Los Angeles, escalating their online row over swirling misinformation.

President-elect Donald Trump and Musk - the Tesla and SpaceX owner poised to play a key role advising the incoming administration - had stepped up criticism of the governor's handling of the devastating blazes that have killed at least 24 people and displaced tens of thousands.

In a post on his social media platform X, Musk blamed the huge loss of homes in Los Angeles on "bad governance at a state and local level that resulted in a shortage of water."

"(Musk) exposed by firefighters for his own lies," Newsom posted late Sunday, alongside a video clip showing the tycoon asking a firefighter whether water availability was an issue.

The firefighter replied there was water in "several reservoirs," and added that battling large-scale fires required supplementing the effort with water trucks.

In a separate spat over the weekend, Newsom accused Musk of "encouraging looting by lying," after the billionaire amplified a post on X that falsely claimed the governor and his fellow Democrats had "decriminalized looting."

"It's illegal -- as it always has been," Newsom responded, amid concerns of a looting spree in areas where people were forced to flee the fires.

"Bad actors will be arrested and prosecuted," he added.

Viral, misleading videos

Musk's personal account on X, which has more than 212 million followers, had become increasingly influential and had often courted criticism for amplifying misinformation.

The platform - previously called Twitter, which Musk purchased in 2022 for $44 billion dollars - had seen an explosion of right-wing misinformation about the deadly wildfires, researchers said.

Even though months of dry weather and strong winds created optimal conditions for the wildfires, narratives on X had singled out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in the Los Angeles fire force as a culprit.

"DEI means people will DIE," Musk posted over the weekend, while downplaying the impact of climate change.

One viral video debunked by the misinformation watchdog NewsGuard had falsely claimed fire department officials were desperately using women's handbags to fight the flames because their resources had been diverted to "woke causes" and war assistance to Ukraine.

But the water-filled pouches seen in the video were actually "canvas bags," carried by firefighters because they were easier to use for extinguishing small flames than having to haul out a hose, the entertainment news site TMZ cited local officials.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones baselessly claimed on X that the fires were part of a "globalist plot to wage economic warfare and deindustrialise the United States."

"True," Musk wrote in response to Jones.

Chris Larson surveys the ruins of his business, the Rancho Bar, destroyed by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on January 9, 2025. The couple also lost their nearby home in the fire. Wildfires threatened to engulf parts of Hollywood on January 9 as a growing number of blazes raged across Los Angeles, forcing over 100,000 people to flee their homes and claiming at least five lives. (Photo by Zoë Meyers / AFP)

Wildfire misinformation was also swirling on other platforms including the Meta-owned Facebook. Photo: ZOE MEYERS / AFP

Wildfire misinformation was also swirling on other platforms including the Meta-owned Facebook.

Authorities recently warned of a false Facebook post urging people to travel to California to join a clean-up crew in areas affected by the wildfires.

"We would like to clarify that there is no such opportunity available," the state's fire protection department wrote on its website.

Meta triggered a global backlash last week after it announced it was scrapping third-party fact-checking in the United States and introducing a crowd-sourced moderation method similar to X.

Disinformation researchers have criticised Meta's policy overhaul, which came less than two weeks before Trump takes office, warning that it risked opening the floodgates for false narratives.

Facebook currently pays to use fact checks from around 80 organisations globally on the platform, as well as on WhatsApp and Instagram. AFP currently works in 26 languages with Facebook's fact-checking scheme.

- AFP

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