By Catalina Jaramillo, D’Angelo Gore, and Robert Farley
FactCheck.org
When major news breaks, including news of a natural disaster, false claims follow. We’ve seen this misinformation phenomenon in the past, and the devastating wildfires in Southern California, perhaps predictably, have led to political attacks and distortions spread on social media.
Last week, staffers teamed up to debunk claims made by (then president-elect) Donald Trump, who cast blame on California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, and (then president) Joe Biden. Trump claimed that Newsom had “refused to sign” a declaration that would have allowed water to flow from Northern California into the affected areas “to protect an essentially worthless fish.” But water policy experts told Catalina that there’s no connection between state water regulations or water flowing from the north and the ability to fight the fire.
Trump wrongly claimed Biden had left the Federal Emergency Management Agency with “NO MONEY” in its emergency funds to provide federal assistance. A FEMA spokesperson told Rob there is about $27 billion in its Disaster Relief Fund from a recent infusion from Congress, enough to provide short-term disaster relief in California.
In other stories about the wildfires this week, we found:
•Social media posts were wrong in claiming Oregon’s firefighting vehicles were “being held in Sacramento for emissions testing.” California and Oregon officials said the trucks only go through quick safety inspections.
•Trump and Newsom traded claims about the state’s fire budget, and it turns out they’re both correct.
•Social media posts misleadingly suggested a $770 payment for necessities like food and fuel would be the only federal aid for those affected by the fires.