Fires & Falsehoods: A Tale of Two Crises

The LA Fires and the Erosion of Truth

Jan 16, 2025

This week, I’m focusing on two contrasting moments—one in the physical world, a question of humanity, and the other in the digital world, driven by AI algorithms. Also, AI Trailblazers is partnering with ADWEEK to launch the AI Trailblazers Power 100, honoring leaders shaping the future of marketing with AI. Nominate top talent by Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. ET and celebrate the individuals at brands, agencies and in the ad-tech and mar-tech ecosystem that deserve the attention. And separately, I’ll be doing a virtual fireside chat with Section School this Friday.

LA Wildfires: A Call for Help and Hope

Tragedy has a way of revealing both the depths of our compassion and the harshest edges of our reality. The fires raging through Los Angeles are not just a catastrophe—they are a relentless, heartbreaking ordeal that countless people are forced to endure each day. The devastation is immense, and the need for help is urgent.

Photos of Los Angeles fires show blazes ripping through neighbourhoods

Being here on the West Coast, with friends in the LA area, makes this crisis feel all the more personal. It’s difficult to witness so much loss, knowing that for so many, life will never be the same. Yet, amid the smoke and sorrow, there is also light—our marketing community has come together to help those affected. The marketing world is showing its heart, stepping up to support not just colleagues but strangers, neighbors, and the entire city in its time of need.

If you can and haven’t already, please consider helping. Every act of kindness matters. Every donation, no matter the size, can make a difference. No strings attached help is the need of the hour. Here are some ways to do so courtesy of Steven Wolfe Pereira and Krystal Hauserman: Wildfire Relief Fund 2025, Children’s Emergency Fund, American Red Cross, and the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation. Also, the LA Disaster Recovery Handbook is a great resource for those sorting through what to do.

When Lies Take Center Stage

In 2018, I co-authored Savvy with Dr. Rohini Luthra, a clinical psychologist. The award-winning book delves into the pervasive issue of misinformation across social media platforms, Corporate America, and the global landscape, offering strategies to combat it. I was deeply concerned at the time about the spread of misinformation and disinformation undermining our shared reality, democratic processes, and endangering lives worldwide. The subsequent years, marked by COVID-19 with the misinformation pandemic that surrounded it, the atrocities against the Rohingya by Myanmar military fueled by social media and the network incitement that drove the January 6th Capitol insurrection, tragically validated those concerns.

Meta changes, meta problems?

This brings us full circle to the dramatic changes Meta implemented last week: dismantling its fact-checking program, halting the penalization of misinformation on the platform, and terminating its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. These developments carry profound implications, particularly for combating misinformation and cyberbullying. Individually and collectively, they risk bringing misinformation to the forefront of Meta's social platforms once again. This is especially ironic for me, as I appealed to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook to stand for the truth six years ago in a Forbes piece and later shared with the Wall Street Journal how marketers like me were shifting ad dollars away from Twitter when it had first moved in a similar direction.

At the heart of Meta's platforms are AI-driven algorithms that curate content and ads, shaping their visibility and reach. Research consistently reveals that these algorithms often amplify divisive, extreme, or sensational material because such content drives higher user engagement. This, in turn, fuels advertising revenue and business growth. As a result, the platform will inherently promotes more divisive and extreme content, as it aligns with its profit-driven priorities. By privileging certain types of content over others, the platform also isn’t upholding freedom of speech—it’s allowing financial interests to dictate which voices are amplified. This is the fundamental and potentially tragic impact of these changes.

Previously, Meta's fact-checking program, established in 2016, served as a critical counterbalance to the publication and algorithmic promotion of extreme content not grounded in truth. Until content was verified as truthful, it would not gain significant exposure or algorithmic reach on Meta platforms.

Facebook is following X's lead in removing third-party fact-checking from its platform. At a private breakfast during CES, which I attended, Linda Yaccarino defended X’s free speech policies. However, moments later, Mark Cuban criticized these policies, highlighting their role in enabling rampant antisemitism, cyberbullying, and explicit content on the platform.

While the program was not without flaws—and there were certainly shortcomings—it played an essential role in curbing the platform's descent into a hub for misinformation, hate speech, and cyberbullying. Now, with the dissolution of the fact checking program, we risk returning to that reality: a world where extreme voices can silence and bully marginalized ones, foreign governments can manipulate elections, and defenders of truth may find themselves targeted and harassed.

Although the previous system was far from perfect, it was a step in the right direction. Freedom of speech must always be accompanied by responsibility to the truth, accountability, human decency, and a commitment to ownership of one’s words. Without these principles, freedom of speech isn’t exactly good for society.

Implications for the Consumer Experience

The practical implications of Meta’s changes are alarming. Under the new policies, users are permitted to make derogatory statements about individuals based on race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, and serious diseases.

For instance, characterizing LGBTQ+ identities as mental illnesses is now permissible. It will also allow dehumanizing speech concerning transgender people, women and immigrants. While Meta suggests that the community notes feature (similar to what X has in place) will contain the influence of such content, the inherent bias in AI algorithms—which favor extreme content—raises the likelihood of widespread dissemination and normalization of hate speech. Besides, community notes is hardly a solve and it isn’t exactly successful on X.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated, "The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech." However, this shift appears to be a cultural tipping point towards prioritizing unregulated and often false expression at the expense of safety, the truth and human decency. With reported profits of approximately $60 billion in 2024, it is questionable whether Zuckerberg’s aligning with certain political agendas and specific profit motives justifies the potential societal harm.

Like him or hate him, President Biden may have had a point when he said in his farewell address yesterday, “ Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling [or] disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit…. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time.” He continued to say, “ Nothing offers more profound possibilities and risks for our economy, and our security, our society. For humanity. Artificial intelligence even has the potential to help us answer my call to end cancer as we know it. But unless safeguards are in place, A.I. could spawn new threats to our rights, our way of life, to our privacy, how we work, and how we protect our nation. We must make sure A.I. is safe and trustworthy and good for all humankind.“

If you're not worried about all of this, you should be. And if, like me, you built your career in marketing, you might feel a pang of guilt—realizing that, however unintentionally, you may have played a role in enabling a platform to grow so large and powerful without enough checks and balances.

Implications for the Marketing Community

The recent changes to Meta’s fact-checking and DEI policies carry significant implications for the marketing community. Regardless of personal opinions on the matter, here are key considerations:

Heightened Focus on Brand Safety
Advertisers will need to closely monitor brand safety on the platform. The reduced content moderation increases the risk of ads appearing next to controversial or harmful content, potentially harming your brand's reputation. It is critical to evaluate whether specific spends could inadvertently damage your image.
Employee Concerns and Internal Alignment
Some employees may express discomfort about substantial ad spending on Meta platforms under the new policies especially with the DEI changes. To address this, update your advertising guidelines and engage HR to craft a unified and transparent response that acknowledges their concerns while outlining the business rationale behind your decisions (whatever those decisions maybe).
Board-Level Communication
These Meta changes may polarize your board of directors, with some members supporting the Meta direction and others opposing it. Prepare a thorough briefing to articulate your approach, ensuring the board understands your rationale, the safeguards in place, how you plan to spend in the future and how the direction aligns with broader business goals.
Shifting Social Media Budgets Amid TikTok's Uncertainty
In light of TikTok's potential unavailability in the U.S. after Sunday, many advertisers may need to reallocate social media budgets to other platforms like Facebook. This presents an opportunity—but also a challenge. Carefully plan your communication strategy and spend allocation to ensure your campaigns are effective and aligned with the evolving social media landscape.

By proactively addressing these challenges, marketers can navigate this complex environment—where AI determines which content gains reach—while safeguarding their brand reputation and adapting to evolving consumer and stakeholder expectations.

Where I’ve been

Last week I was at CES for two speaking engagements promoting Marketing with AI for Dummies and connecting with fellow marketing and business leaders. Here are some photographs of the books with friends at CES. These were all taken before many of us knew the full extent of the tragedy the LA fires were becoming.

From top left Dave Spinato, Rishad Tobaccowala, Ross Martin, Joe Marchese, Melanie Huet, Mark Kirkham, Ian Schafer, Michael Kassan, Michael Lazerow, Janet Balis, Grace Dolan and Kay Madati

Marketing with AI for Dummies continues to generate significant attention, leading to speaking engagements and advisory work around AI education, and marketing planning. If you’re interested in working together whether it be in the form of a speaking engagement, education for your teams or for strategic planning, don’t hesitate to ping me.

And separately, as a part of my ongoing book tour, I’ll be joining Greg Shove of Section School for a virtual fireside chat this Friday. A few weeks ago, he hosted Scott Galloway, who shared his 2025 trends, and in two weeks, he’ll be speaking with Reid Hoffman. Safe to say, I’m in good company with this one!