Fact checking the LA wildfires

The LA wildfires, which killed at least 29 people, kept Full Fact’s online misinformation team busy in January. 

In total we published 11 fact checks about them, covering everything from suspected AI-generated images to miscaptioned videos from Chile, and delved into the science behind why wildfires sometimes leave cars burnt, but trees and utility poles intact.

Now the wildfires are fully contained, we look back at what we’ve learned from the experience. 

AI-generated misinformation

We’re seeing more and more probable AI-generated content being shared in the wake of major news events—and this was really notable in our work checking the LA wildfires.

When news spread that the fire had extended into the hills around the Hollywood sign, fake pictures of the landmark on fire began to circulate online. 

Although the Hollywood Sign Trust confirmed on Instagram that the sign “continues to stand tall” and did not catch fire, this didn’t stop the misleading images going viral. 

We fact checked one such image showing the Hollywood sign engulfed in flames. Although it looked convincing, uncropped versions included the watermark for ‘Grok’, the generative AI chatbot created by Elon Musk’s startup xAI, in the right-hand corner. 

We also saw two pictures of ‘miracle houses’ that were supposedly unaffected by the fires surrounding them. Again, these pictures were most likely created by AI, with one image of a blue-roofed house that apparently survived the fires also featuring the Grok watermark.

Another, which was said to show a house spared by God because the resident was a “devout Christian”, was shared over 1,200 times on Facebook. 

But when we put the image into Google’s reverse image search, it said in the ‘About this image’ section that it was “Made with Google AI”.

We asked Google about this label, and a spokesperson told us: “A SynthID watermark is detected in the image, meaning the image has been generated or modified with AI. This is exactly the sort of problem SynthID was intended to address, so we're glad to see it being put to good use here.”

Google said it was “not possible to confirm how or to what degree AI was used to generate or modify the image”. But when we searched for the image online we could find no record of it or anything similar being shared by verifiable outlets, or details of which area of LA it supposedly depicts, making it seem likely the image was completely generated, rather than just modified, by a Google AI tool.

Real images and false claims

Although these images were edited, some users did share genuine photos of fire damage, particularly one viral photo showing a burnt car next to a largely intact tree and utility pole, with captions appearing to suggest the damage wasn’t caused by wildfires.

But having spoken to several experts, we were able to explain how the damage in the photo is consistent with the damage wildfires can cause. 

One important difference is that cars and buildings have large, flat surfaces that can catch burning embers. 

Once they catch fire, the enclosed interior also traps heat—much like an oven, making the flames hotter and resulting in greater damage.

By contrast, many tree species are naturally equipped to withstand wildfires because of their water content, which helps slow down or resist burning.

Miscaptioned video

Misrepresented footage from other times or places was a problem too. A video of a 2017 fire in Los Angeles was reshared online with the suggestion it showed the recent fires in LA.

We also spotted two miscaptioned videos showing events in Chile, not LA. 

One, which showed the perspective of a firefighter tackling a blaze inside a building, was originally posted in November 2024 on the YouTube channel of the action camera company GoPro. Full Fact traced the other back to a YouTube short posted by Al Jazeera in January 2024, captioned: “Video from Chile shows a small plane exploding as it crashed onto a highway. The crash claimed the life of the pilot and at least four people were injured.” 

The original video, which had been vertically flipped, had also been reported by other media outlets at the time. 

Unevidenced claims  

Some claims about the LA wildfires were completely fabricated. One video supposedly showed a multimillion dollar home owned by the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which the video claimed was destroyed by the wildfires. 

We could find no evidence that Mr Scholz owns any property in the US, and a spokesperson for the German government said these claims were “fictitious”. The house shown in the video is actually an LAPD police academy owned by the City of Los Angeles, and was not burnt down. 

As we always say, during unfolding global events it’s essential to consider whether what you see online is accurate, so you can avoid sharing misleading information. 

We have written a number of guides to help, including on how to spot misleading images and videos. We’ve also created a toolkit to help identify misinformation, and written about how to spot AI-generated images and videos.

Image credit: MARIO TAMA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP