AI
Sunday, January 12, 2025 4:34:43 PM
I told, conix, here years ago that dis/misinformation and lies would play a major part in a then upcoming election result, and the insidious spread of it ever since has only got insidiously worse. It wasn't long ago that Musk had some credibility among interested folk, it's interesting that he could have burst that personal bubble of his so quickly. From your 2nd link:
Elon Musk And More Right-Wing Critics Blame Diversity, Equity And Inclusion For LA Wildfires—With Little Evidence
Conor Murray Forbes Staff
Murray is a Forbes news reporter covering entertainment trends.
Jan 9, 2025,03:26pm EST
Updated Jan 9, 2025, 08:47pm EST
Topline Billionaires Elon Musk and Bill Ackman are among those on social media attacking the Los Angeles Fire Department’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as wildfires rage across the city—but they haven’t provided evidence directly linking DEI to the department’s ability to prevent fires.
Elon Musk attacked the LAFD's DEI bureau on social media. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)Getty Images
Key Facts
* Musk has reposted various posts on X that attempt to link the fire department’s DEI initiative to the spread of the wildfires, including a post Wednesday night that “DEI means people DIE,” though he hasn’t provided evidence that the fire department’s DEI initiative diverted resources from fire prevention.
* The LAFD has been led by Kristin Crowley, whose online biography says she is the department’s first woman and first LGBTQ chief, since 2022, and the department created a diversity, equity and inclusion bureau the same year, but online social media conspiracy theories have not directly linked either of these developments to why the wildfires have spread so quickly.
* Megyn Kelly slammed Crowley on her podcast in a now-viral clip reposted by Musk and Ackman, in which she alleges the chief “has made not filling the fire hydrants top priority, but diversity,” though multiple reports have attributed responsibility for water supply to the city’s Department of Water and Power.
* Libs of TikTok, a right-wing account that has previously faced suspensions on social media for accusations of hate speech, has made various posts targeting Crowley, including posts pointing out her attendance at LGBTQ Pride parades, garnering millions of views and spurring criticism of the fire chief (Libs of TikTok previously acknowledged in a post on its website Twitter had suspended its account for violating the platform's "hateful conduct" policy, though it denied engaging in hateful conduct and claimed it was "reporting the facts").
* Right-wing commentator Matt Walsh claimed on X the LAFD “deliberately set out to exclude white men from becoming firefighters,” and although the department has voiced commitments to hiring and retaining more diverse employees, Walsh did not provide any evidence the department refused to hire any more white men.
* Some social media users have cited radio personality Adam Carolla, who in a 2017 congressional testimony claimed he was turned away from being an LA firefighter because he isn’t “Black, Hispanic or a woman,” though the alleged incident Carolla describes happened when he was 19 in the 1980s, decades before Crowley’s tenure and the establishment of the LAFD’s diversity bureau.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/01/09/elon-musk-and-more-right-wing-critics-blame-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-for-la-wildfires-with-little-evidence/
Elon Musk And More Right-Wing Critics Blame Diversity, Equity And Inclusion For LA Wildfires—With Little Evidence
Conor Murray Forbes Staff
Murray is a Forbes news reporter covering entertainment trends.
Jan 9, 2025,03:26pm EST
Updated Jan 9, 2025, 08:47pm EST
Topline Billionaires Elon Musk and Bill Ackman are among those on social media attacking the Los Angeles Fire Department’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as wildfires rage across the city—but they haven’t provided evidence directly linking DEI to the department’s ability to prevent fires.
Elon Musk attacked the LAFD's DEI bureau on social media. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)Getty Images
Key Facts
* Musk has reposted various posts on X that attempt to link the fire department’s DEI initiative to the spread of the wildfires, including a post Wednesday night that “DEI means people DIE,” though he hasn’t provided evidence that the fire department’s DEI initiative diverted resources from fire prevention.
* The LAFD has been led by Kristin Crowley, whose online biography says she is the department’s first woman and first LGBTQ chief, since 2022, and the department created a diversity, equity and inclusion bureau the same year, but online social media conspiracy theories have not directly linked either of these developments to why the wildfires have spread so quickly.
* Megyn Kelly slammed Crowley on her podcast in a now-viral clip reposted by Musk and Ackman, in which she alleges the chief “has made not filling the fire hydrants top priority, but diversity,” though multiple reports have attributed responsibility for water supply to the city’s Department of Water and Power.
* Libs of TikTok, a right-wing account that has previously faced suspensions on social media for accusations of hate speech, has made various posts targeting Crowley, including posts pointing out her attendance at LGBTQ Pride parades, garnering millions of views and spurring criticism of the fire chief (Libs of TikTok previously acknowledged in a post on its website Twitter had suspended its account for violating the platform's "hateful conduct" policy, though it denied engaging in hateful conduct and claimed it was "reporting the facts").
* Right-wing commentator Matt Walsh claimed on X the LAFD “deliberately set out to exclude white men from becoming firefighters,” and although the department has voiced commitments to hiring and retaining more diverse employees, Walsh did not provide any evidence the department refused to hire any more white men.
* Some social media users have cited radio personality Adam Carolla, who in a 2017 congressional testimony claimed he was turned away from being an LA firefighter because he isn’t “Black, Hispanic or a woman,” though the alleged incident Carolla describes happened when he was 19 in the 1980s, decades before Crowley’s tenure and the establishment of the LAFD’s diversity bureau.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/01/09/elon-musk-and-more-right-wing-critics-blame-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-for-la-wildfires-with-little-evidence/
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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