Los Angeles Wildfire

Does a video show real wildfire scenes of firefighters in rugged terrain, fire raging and a suburban neighborhood in California? No, that's not true: This video on Facebook is AI generated. Lead Stories tracked the source of a clip in this video back to a TikTok creator who has their account marked, "AI Lover." They have published 69 AI generated…

Were the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires intentionally set to implement "smart city" technology across Los Angeles? No, that's not true: While the cause of the wildfires had not been determined at the time of writing, the "smart city" effort to improve technology for municipalities does not include intentionally destroying them first. Los Angeles unveiled its plan to eventually add…

Did a white home with a red roof survive a wildfire that leveled every other home in a Los Angeles neighborhood? No, that's not true: This aerial view does not show a real neighborhood impacted by the January 2025 fires in Los Angeles County. Google Lens image search results say the image was made with Google AI. The image appeared…

Did the Ukrainian government state that "eight mansions owned by Ukrainian military officials" were "burned down in wildfires in Los Angeles" in January 2025? No, that's not true: A video that made this assertion contained the logo of United24, the official fundraising platform of the Ukrainian government. A United24 spokesperson and Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation said this video is…

Does a photo authentically show rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs' home being destroyed by the January 2025 Los Angeles fires? No, that's not true: This is not Combs' house. Rather, the photo shows an Ohio mansion that burned down in 2014, predating the Los Angeles fires by over a decade. As of January 13, 2025, Lead Stories found no evidence that…

Do various video clips in a social media post show authentic footage of the Los Angeles County wildfires burning in January 2025? No, that's not true: These clips show evidence of being generated by artificial intelligence. We could not locate any trustworthy sources that used the clips or established their authenticity. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published…

Did California delay firetrucks sent by Oregon due to concerns over emissions standards? No, that's not true. A spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told Lead Stories, "No emissions or SMOG testing was performed." The Oregon State Fire Marshal said all 15 strike teams arrived in Southern California on January 9, 2025. The claim appeared in…

Did Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the city council cut the fire department's budget before the January 2025 wildfires? No, that's not true: While the initial 2024-25 budget for the Los Angeles Fire Department reduced spending by about 2 percent, later decisions -- like approving a new labor contract and buying equipment -- actually increased the budget by 7…

If a wildfire destroys cars, must it always destroy nearby trees as well? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found other examples of wildfires sparing trees while nearby cars and houses were incinerated. Experts explain that trees generally have a higher moisture content and take longer to heat up than closed structures like a car or home, making trees less…

Does an authentic photo show a California fire hydrant painted rainbow-colored with a January 2025 wildfire burning in the background? No, that's not true: The image was posted by a self-described satire account. It was generated using AI, as evidenced by the Grok logo in the bottom right corner. The image appeared in a post (archived here) on Instagram on…