California Governor Gavin Newsom has accused tech billionaire Elon Musk of spreading “lies” about the state’s response to the deadly wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles, and his online row over misinformation. is extended.
President-elect Donald Trump and Musk — the owner of Tesla and SpaceX set to play a key role in advising the incoming administration — have stepped up criticism of the governor’s handling of the devastating fires that have claimed at least 24 lives. People have died and tens of thousands have been displaced.
In a post on his social media platform X, Musk blamed the massive loss of homes in Los Angeles on “poor governance at the state and local level that resulted in water shortages.”
“(Musk) was exposed by firefighters for his lies,” Newsom posted late Sunday, along with a video clip of the tycoon asking a firefighter if water availability was a problem.
The firefighter responded that there was water in “several reservoirs” and added that the effort needed to be supplemented with water trucks to fight the massive fire.
In a separate spat over the weekend, Newsom accused Musk of “lying and encouraging looting,” after the billionaire promoted a post on X that falsely claimed the governor and his Fellow Democrats have “outlawed looting.”
“It’s illegal — as it always has been,” Newsom responded, amid fears of looting in areas where people were forced to flee the fire.
“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, is becoming increasingly influential and is often criticized for spreading misinformation.
Researchers say the platform — formerly Twitter, which Musk bought for $44 billion in 2022 — has seen an explosion of right-wing misinformation about deadly wildfires.
While months of dry weather and high winds have created perfect conditions for wildfires, statements on X have pointed to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies at the Los Angeles Fire Force as the culprit.
“DEI means people will die,” Musk posted over the weekend, downplaying the effects of climate change.
A viral video by disinformation watchdog NewsGuard falsely claimed that fire department personnel were using women’s handbags to fight the flames because their resources were being used by “wake causes” and Ukraine. I was diverted to war aid.
Entertainment news site TMZ cited local officials as saying the water-filled pouches seen in the video were actually “canvas bags,” carried by firefighters to put out small fires rather than hoses. were easy.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones baselessly claimed on X that the fire was part of a “global conspiracy to wage economic war and deindustrialize the United States”.
“True,” Musk wrote back to Jones.
Wildfire misinformation was also circulating on other platforms, including Facebook, which is owned by Meta.
Authorities recently warned of a false Facebook post urging people to travel to California to join cleanup crews in wildfire-ravaged areas.
“We would like to clarify that no such opportunity is available,” the state Department of Fire Protection wrote on its website.
Meta sparked a global backlash last week when it announced it was ending third-party fact-checking in the United States and introducing a crowdsourced moderation method similar to X.
Disinformation researchers have criticized Meta’s reinstatement of the policy, which came out two weeks before Trump took office, and warned that it risks opening the floodgates for false narratives.
Facebook currently pays for fact-checking from around 80 organizations globally on the platform as well as WhatsApp and Instagram. AFP Currently works with Facebook’s fact-checking scheme in 26 languages.