Right-wing lies spread faster than flames

This is the pattern we will see for every climate disaster in the future. Rather than recognizing the role of climate change, rather than having honest discussions about infrastructure and emergency preparedness, the right will look for ways to blame their cultural grievances. Everything becomes proof of their preferred narrative: fire hydrant failures become proof of Democratic mismanagement, female leadership becomes proof of “woke” politics gone wrong, and the real causes are buried. under an avalanche of manufactured indignation.

The timing is good for Meta’s announcement about the end of fact-checking. While these fires demonstrate why we desperately need reliable information during disasters, Silicon Valley is working to dismantle the systems designed to provide it. Mark Zuckerberg calls this “a return to our roots around free expression.” In reality, it’s about appeasing the new Trump administration, even if that means letting the lies spread as fast as wildfire.

Meanwhile, real Angelenos are losing their homes, their communities, and in some cases, their lives. The right’s exploitation of this tragedy is not only cynical: it is dangerous. When people can’t get accurate information during a disaster, when every crisis becomes fodder for culture war stories, we all lose. Except, of course, those who spread lies. They are doing very well.