Social Media Misinformation and Governance

NPR reports that false narratives on social media about California’s Senate Bill 549 — including viral TikToks by Palisades Fire survivor and influencer Spencer Pratt mischaracterizing it as a mandate for dense low‑income housing on burned lots — helped sink a proposal that would have funded transit‑oriented and low‑income housing and created a central hub to manage Los Angeles’ post‑fire recovery after the deadly 2025 Palisades and Altadena blazes. Legal and climate‑policy experts say the episode shows how misleading online claims about water use and redevelopment diverted public debate and directly shaped the state’s legislative response to one of its worst urban wildfires, leaving displaced residents like Chad Comey navigating a fragmented recovery.