LA Mayor Caught Omitting Reporters’ Testy Questions About Wildfires From Press Conference Videos

Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass seemingly edited press conference livestreams shared on her Facebook page to remove portions of Q&A sessions where reporters asked her tough questions about the city’s wildfire response.

The mayor has come under intense backlash for her overall handling of the wildfires in early January that burned over 57,000 acres and killed 29 people. Bass’ own Facebook account appears to have edited out clips showing reporters’ hard-hitting questions about the city’s response to the destructive fires, which could be found on the County of Los Angeles’ account.

During a Jan. 9 press conference, a reporter can be heard asking Bass about her response to those calling on her to step down on a video posted to the County of Los Angeles’ Facebook account. On the video shared to the mayor’s Facebook page, that exchange is not included.

“And let me just say, because I’ve answered some questions like that in the morning and let me just state now. Number one, these fires are burning now. Our job is to make sure that people stay alive, that we save lives, that we save homes, that we save property and I also said when the fires are out, we will do a deep dive. We will look at what worked, we will look at what didn’t work and we will let you know. Until then, my focus is on the TV screens behind you that are showing devastation that has continued. Thank you, answered it in the morning, answered it now, won’t answer it again,” Bass said in the County of Los Angeles’ livestream.

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Bass’ Facebook page cut out the Q&A period almost entirely, focusing solely on several politicians and Los Angeles officials giving statements on the fires. At the end of the video, a reporter can be heard asking the mayor about ways to combat the fires, though his question got cut off from the livestream before Bass began to answer.