By Gabby Bonds
Elm Staff Writer
The night of Jan. 7 marked the start of the wildfire emergency that has been ravaging Southern California, specifically the Palisades and Eaton, for weeks.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, there are 4 active fires as of Jan. 27.
As if the fires were not dangerous enough on their own, there has also been rampant misinformation regarding the situation on the internet, and even from certain elected officials. In emergencies like these, misinformation detracts from public concern and distracts from efforts to provide aid.
According to Oxford Languages, misinformation is defined as “false or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately intended to deceive.”
However, the origin of misinformation is not always malicious. Natural disasters are inevitably accompanied by numerous unknowns, such as their cause and what the next steps are. Eager to answer these questions, the public often rushes into believing any available explanation, despite the accuracy of those explanations.
With that being said, the sometimes-benevolent origins of misinformation do not diminish the dire consequences of its inaccuracy.
“People rely on accurate information during an emergency to make informed decisions for themselves and their families. When the information environment is muddied, people can’t make effective decisions,” Samantha Montano, a professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, said.
On the other hand, some misinformation is intended to make political statements.
For example, according to The Guardian, President Trump called on the Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom, to “release the water” from northern parts of the state. However, according to NBC, California water experts have clarified that the problem is not the water supply, but the generators that pump the water.
President Trump’s call was made to criticize Governor Newsom, rather than assist California, after a history of conflict between the two.
Further misinformation regarding the wildfires involves the role that climate change had in their formation.
According to Inside Climate News, the unusually dry and hot winter months that California has experienced, as well as the strong seasonal Santa Ana winds, were major contributors to the wildfire crisis.
While these are all characteristics of a warming climate, those in denial about this fact have spread misinformation regarding the root of the problem in an attempt to distract from it; the most outrageous of which includes that the fires were started intentionally in a mass plot related to high-speed rail or the 2028 Olympics, according to The Guardian.
It is the public’s responsibility to ensure the truth of the information that they are consuming and believing, but it is not a responsibility they must face alone.
According to The Guardian, various emergency management agencies have made efforts to curb misinformation, such as creating websites, rumor-response pages and holding press conferences. Governor Newsom has even launched a page on his campaign website intended to combat misinformation.
By debunking false rumors and misinformation surrounding the California wildfires, attention can return to where it is needed the most: humanitarian relief efforts.
Several organizations, such as the American Red Cross and the California Fire Foundation, are working tirelessly to provide aid to those most impacted by the wildfires.
If you would like to be a part of this mission, you can join people from all over the United States in visiting these organizations’ websites and finding more information about how to get involved.
To persevere through emergencies communities must come together. To do so, accurate information is vital.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Caption: Misinformation surrounding the California Wildfires has detracted from the public concern