While this may not be the substantial story of the week, there is still excitement in the press over the news that Mark Zuckerberg has announced that fact-checking will be removed from his social media platform. Many journalists were in a froth of outrage over the decision, and Brian Stelter was so incensed that he revealed what made him so furious about the issue: These tasteless conservatives will be able to express their opinions!
Hang it in the NEWSEUM… pic.twitter.com/k6Xk5n0aiB
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) January 9, 2025
In what seems almost like an attempt to show Zuckerberg that he made the wise decision, CNN’s Daniel Dale is coming forward to pose as an authority on California’s water issues and to interfere with those in the state things rule – namely from top to bottom, the Democrats. However, Dale falls victim to his usual handicap: if Donald Trump has said something, he has to immediately step in and prove that the man is lying. (We see no such energy from the same man who used to call himself the president’s fact-checker when it comes to Joe Biden’s barrage of falsehoods.)
Daniel joined CNN’s Abby Phillip to explain the problem of firefighters reporting low water pressure when fighting fires and, in too many cases, fire hydrants not providing any water at all. This was Dale, quite literally, carrying water for Democrats who were fumbling around on the issue of providing adequate water supplies. Daniel received quotes from Donald Trump, who has long discussed the need for the state to improve its fire preparedness, and he chose to describe those comments as follows: “an astonishing amount of injustice.” This sentence will prove to be a darkly ironic analysis by the “Fact Checker.”
CNN reporter and in-house fact checker Daniel Dale @ddale8 Debunking Trump’s False Claim About California Fire and Water Management System with CNN Anchor @abbydphillip
9/1/25 10:50 PM ET pic.twitter.com/HmRiDnvYN6
— Jeff Storobinsky (@jeffstorobinsky) January 10, 2025
First, he disputes the claim that there is a water shortage caused by the diversion of northern water supplies to the Pacific Ocean to protect Delta smelt fish species. Dale claims experts have told him the two matters are unrelated. Okay, if so, then what explains the water shortage and challenges firefighters face? According to CNN’s water management expert, Daniel tells us the water is there.
But first, there is no water shortage in the Los Angeles area. The reservoirs are at or above historical levels.
Yes, about that, Danny. You say that you have spoken to some water policy experts in California, but can you explain that at no point in your discussion about water availability did they bring up the fact that the nearest water reservoir – in the severely burned Pacific Palisades area – wasn’t even available at the time the fire started? It was down for maintenance, and what’s more, not only was it offline and able to come back up; it was empty.
Of course, LADWP CEO Janisse Quiñones, LA Mayor Karen Bass, LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley, Governor Gavin Newsom, and POTUS all remained noiseless on the matter
BOMBSHELL: The main reservoir was empty when the Palisades fire broke out, contributing to the loss of homes and lives https://t.co/fmsmBfY6b4
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) January 10, 2025
Then, as if to prove that Dale is a complete failure in this area, he adds another facet to his distracting fact check regarding the water transport plane used to fight the fire.
[Trump] also said yesterday that they are not using firefighting aircraft. We saw these planes. They are there.
There have been a lot of stories this week about the water tankers, starting with whether they utilize sea water and One of them will be grounded after it collided with a drone during a flight. These planes are often described as Canadian Super Scooper planes, which Dale, a Toronto native, would have thought was at least strange. Why Canadian, one might ask?
As was reported just a few months ago, there were disputes with regional firefighting teams and with the US Forest Service.
California firefighting planes hampered by U.S. Forest Service policies, local chiefs say – Los Angeles Times https://t.co/cRxfpVmJmi
— Newz Tracker (@NewzTracker) October 6, 2024
From the Los Angeles Times report:
“I don’t understand why they chose to reinterpret this long-standing procedure this time,” said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone. “Why are they moving the goalposts now, during fire season? The timing couldn’t be worse.”
The dispute is the latest to pit local fire officials at odds with the Forest Service, amid a tough season that has seen more than a million acres burned across the state. Some county leaders have also spoken out about Forest Service staffing shortages, which they say has led to delayed federal responses to recent fires, including the airport fire that destroyed homes in Orange and Riverside counties.
This results in two critical components to Daniel Dale’s definitive final word on matters that are completely at odds with the facts. Dale is brought on air and the hosts at times speak glowingly about his work, but this is a prime example of Dale speaking with utmost confidence but being categorically wrong. Mike Waltz ripped Dale off at the Republican National Convention after the fact-checking guru claimed the Florida Republican representative was completely wrong in his convention speech, and Waltz laid out how incompetent Dale was in his statement.
This account by Daniel Dale highlights just some of the problems faced by these biased fact experts. I think Facebook and any other platform that distances itself from these partisan hacks will be greatly improved.
