After both the North Carolina hurricane and the Los Angeles wildfires, right-wing figures spread misinformation, targeting DEI initiatives and falsely blaming them for the disasters, distracting from the real causes like climate change and mismanagement.

As firefighters in Los Angeles continue to battle destructive wildfires, right-wing figures are spreading bigoted criticism and falsehoods regarding the response, including unfounded accusations that the fires are worsening due to diversity within the fire department. These misleading narratives echo the misinformation that emerged following Hurricane Florence in North Carolina, where partisan figures capitalized on public outrage to push their political agendas, further confusing the already complicated information landscape surrounding fast-developing crises.

In a familiar pattern, conservative media and commentators have targeted the Los Angeles Fire Department, claiming that its diverse leadership is responsible for the disaster. A post from the X account Libs of TikTok, notorious for spreading anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, stated: “Meet Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley. 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?” In another tweet, the account, which has nearly 4 million followers, further criticized diversity initiatives, saying: “DEI will get people k*lled. DEI must DIE.”

Alongside these baseless attacks, some have falsely accused Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom of mismanaging the fire response. The spread of such misinformation not only obstructs the work of emergency responders but also misleads residents who rely on accurate and timely information to stay safe. Furthermore, these falsehoods make it difficult for the public to distinguish between legitimate concerns and partisan attacks when evaluating the actions of public officials.

False claims regarding the diversion of federal disaster relief funds to migrants have also resurfaced, as well as allegations that environmental protections, like prioritizing fish over people, or restrictions on prescribed burns, contributed to the crisis. Unrelated donations to Ukraine have also been used as a scapegoat. For instance, Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the former president, insinuated that donations from the Los Angeles Fire Department to Ukraine in 2022 had somehow impacted the fire response.

While critics across the political spectrum, including Los Angeles Times publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong, have claimed that the fire department’s budget was severely cut, this claim is false, as noted by Politico. Misleading narratives dismissing the role of climate change in fueling natural disasters have also garnered millions of views, contributing to the confusion.

Libs of TikTok compiled a list of right-wing criticisms, accusing the government of a variety of misdeeds: “Don’t you hate it when climate change appoints a DEI hire to run the fire dept, gives away fire equipment to Ukraine, stops critical controlled burns, defunds the fire dept, refuses to build more water reservoirs and store water, cancels fire insurance, mismanages forests and brush, and fires firefighters for refusing an experimental vaccine?”

Elon Musk, the owner of X and a frequent disseminator of misinformation, claimed, “They prioritized DEI over saving lives and homes.” In a response to Libs of TikTok, he speculated, “Wild theory: maybe, just maybe, the root cause wasn’t climate change?”

Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican congressman from Arizona, echoed claims that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) diverted funds to migrants rather than responding to natural disasters, a false narrative that was debunked during the North Carolina hurricane. Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist behind InfoWars, went even further, falsely claiming that President Joe Biden had grounded firefighting planes and that the fires were being intentionally spread as part of a “globalist plot to wage economic warfare.” Musk even responded to Jones with a one-word endorsement, “True,” in a tweet he later deleted.