WHILE social media facilitated communication and helped immensely in the evacuation efforts of affected residents during the Los Angeles fires, it was a double-edged sword.
A sweep of the popular social media sites show that residents found themselves “doomscrolling”—the act of continuously consuming distressing images and updates about the fires—supposedly as a way of coping with the distress. But there is something deeper.
Pixie M., a Filipina caregiver and evacuee from near the Eaton fire said in a post that, “I want to know where the fire is and how it is going to affect me. I’d rather freak out than not know anything at all.” Another comment, this time on X from Dave D., an Asian-American street artist said that “this is reality, and nothing is going to change it.”
Cleveland Clinic psychologist, Dr. Susan Albers said that doomscrolling expression of depression hidden in the face of “just wanting to know what is happening.”
“When we’re depressed, we often look for information that can confirm how we feel. Doomscrolling operates with the same mindset: If you’re feeling negative, then reading negative news only reconfirms how you feel,” Dr. Albers said in a Cleveland Clinic online post.
More concerning however is how X and Facebook became hydrants for what is mostly politically motivated misinformation, which triggered more anxiety and unrest. These false narratives and sensationalized claims now circulating online are both upsetting and divisive.
For example, some right-wing influencers attributed the wildfires’ devastation to DEI (diversity, equality, inclusivity) initiatives within local government agencies, suggesting that these policies hampered effective firefighting efforts.
A report on ABC News said talk show podcaster Megyn Kelly, criticized the openly gay LA Fire Chief Kristine Crowley and city’s first female fire chief, saying “what we are seeing (was) largely preventable,” referring to the lack of water supply and pressure at the fire site. “LA’s fire chief has made not filling the fire hydrants top priority, but diversity.” The same report stated that “there’s no evidence that Crowley’s efforts to diversify the department affected its firefighting duties.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered an investigation into the water supply issues and empty hydrants. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) acknowledged the low water supply was partly because the Santa Ynez Reservoir was offline for maintenance. The lack of water pressure was simply because the whole water supply system was overwhelmed, as it was not designed to handle such large-scale wildfires. Additionally, strong winds grounded firefighting aircraft during critical periods, further complicating the situation.
Newson was hit on President-elect Donald Trump’s own platform ‘Truth Social,’ where he was blamed the for not signing an agreement that would have allowed water from northern California to flow to areas affected by the fires. Trump claimed this was to “protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt,” suggesting that environmental policies were responsible for the fires’ severity. This again was fact checked and proven false by media outlets like the CNN, the BBC and Al Jazeera.
AI and deep fakes proved to be particularly popular during this time and those who created it were just after monetization. Images and videos of the iconic Hollywood sign burning caused an uproar and commenters were visibly distressed. AI was also said to create images of people with flamethrowers going around the city. There were also deep fake videos which combined actual footage of dried up hydrants with AI generated ones that suggested that firefighters were inadequately equipped or poorly trained and prepared for the crisis.
