rumors quickly escalated into conspiracy theories, including false claims about looting, government weather manipulation, and deliberate arson, often with political motives. former cnn journalist alan duke, co-founder of fact-checking site lead stories, compared cutting fact-checkers to dismantling a fire department during an emergency.
meta has yet to announce a specific end date for its fact-checking program, though it is expected to cease by march. this decision could lead to job losses or the closure of some of its fact-checking partners, such as lead stories.
despite the ongoing fires, misinformation spread rapidly, fueled by influential figures like donald trump and elon musk. for instance, trump blamed the democratic party, while musk promoted the idea that diversity policies were responsible for the fires. some conspiracy theorists, like alex jones, suggested the fires were part of a larger plot to destabilize the u.s.
the spread of misinformation undermines trust in emergency responders, complicating efforts during crises. duke noted that unless false claims are countered with facts, myths will continue to thrive.
zuckerberg plans to replace the current fact-checking system with a crowdsourced model, similar to x's community notes, where users flag misleading content. however, unlike professional fact-checkers, these community-based notes lack ethical guidelines for accurate assessments. while community notes may help in some cases, experts argue that they cannot replace the comprehensive work of trained fact-checkers.
despite its limitations, community notes has flagged some posts on x, but numerous conspiracy theories, such as the claim that the fires were part of a "globalist plot," remain unchecked.