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Posted on 05/18/2026 7:55:04 PM PDT by Bullish
Is Big Tech, once again, playing politics with the truth?
In a move sparking widespread outrage and accusations of election-year manipulation, Google Maps has reportedly scrubbed satellite imagery of the devastating 2025 Palisades and Eaton wildfires, reverting affected Los Angeles neighborhoods to their pre-fire appearance.
The timing, just weeks before key local elections, has California voices questioning whether Big Tech is once again playing politics with the truth.
As reported by The New York Post, users searching streets like Homepark Avenue in Altadena, Iliff Street, and Radcliffe Avenue in Pacific Palisades now see lush, untouched landscapes instead of the charred ruins left by the fires that destroyed thousands of homes, claimed lives, and exposed deep failures in city leadership. Apple Maps, by contrast, continues to display the accurate post-fire devastation.
Apparently Google decided “showing current reality” might not be ideal for reelection optics of LA mayor? So now Google Maps is serving pre fire images for parts of LA us and our neighbors live. pic.twitter.com/jPpkCnlC3A
— Edward Mehr (@EdwardMehr) May 18, 2026
This is no mere technical hiccup, critics say. It’s a convenient erasure of reality for embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who is fighting for reelection against challengers including reality star-turned-candidate Spencer Pratt who is surging in the polls.
Pratt, whose own Pacific Palisades home was reduced to ashes in the Palisades Fire, didn’t mince words. “Dear Google, wtf is this,” he posted on social media, echoing the frustration of countless Angelenos still grappling with loss while the city fiddles with permitting. Pratt, running as an independent (though registered Republican), has made accountability for the fire response a cornerstone of his campaign, suing the city alongside other victims and blasting Bass for alleged negligence.
insane level of manipulation from @Google
If you search for Pacific Palisades, they are using old map data and labeling it as 2026. If you go to the historical data, you can see the receipts https://t.co/HvCSdiQVqp pic.twitter.com/ImgyuyCdsN
— Hunter Weiss (@Hunter_Weiss) May 18, 2026
The California Globe has long documented the gross failures that turned preventable tragedy into catastrophe. Our past reporting exposed how bureaucratic incompetence, dry reservoirs, delayed air support, and edited after-action reports left communities vulnerable. Bass herself faced accusations of manipulating a post-fire report to shield her administration.
Other leading California voices piled on. National influencers like Libs of TikTok called it outright “election interference.” Locals on forums and social media speculated that showing the “current reality” might hurt Bass’s reelection optics against Pratt and Councilmember Nithya Raman. One affected resident, Chris J., noted he could view accurate post-fire imagery until recently– crucial for homebuyers and renters assessing the area.
This isn’t Google’s first brush with California controversy. The California Globe previously reported on Google’s threats to block California news links in protest of journalism preservation bills, highlighting Big Tech’s heavy hand in shaping what Californians see and know.
Google blamed a “technical issue triggered by a recent, routine update to satellite imagery,” claiming it is working to restore the post-fire views “ASAP.” But many aren’t buying it, especially given the selective impact on fire-ravaged LA zones and the proximity to elections.
As Pratt continues his insurgent campaign, fueled by personal loss and a vow to fix what Sacramento and City Hall broke, this “glitch” only underscores deeper distrust in institutions that should serve the public, not shield politicians. Californians deserve transparency, not digital whitewashing of tragedy.
Update: About 30 minutes after publishing, Google announced it has updated the imagery:
This technical issue has been fixed. Post-fire imagery is rolling out again now across Google Maps and Earth. https://t.co/I3xly9Iu9E
— News from Google (@NewsFromGoogle) May 18, 2026
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Computers have “glitches” all the time, during election season.
DEMOCRAT WOKE Google
They didn’t fix it very well. I opened Google Earth about five minutes ago, and the whole area shows imagery from 12/1/2023.
Hmmm... Now that’s interesting.
It’s not a “glitch” nor an “error” nor a “mistake” when the errors all, or almost all, just happen to help one side. If they really were glitches, they would 50/50 help each side randomly.
But they don’t.
This is intentional, and it is criminal at least to the extent they amount to undeclared campaign contributions.
I just went and checked on Google earth and I was able to find all of the burned areas with the empty lots where the houses used to be. Maybe you need to update your Google earth?
Maybe so. I thought it updated automatically, though. It certainly does so with the imagery of other areas. What is the imagery date for the stuff you’re looking at?
Excuse me if I don’t wait up for an answer. I have to get up pretty early tomorrow, so I’m turning this off for the night.
There’s no glitch here. It’s election interference. Google will do nothing about it.
Mine says 9/22/25
Sandy Fire evacuation warnings expand as fire pushes toward LA County
Time to bust up Google, including divestment of Android.
Odd.....I’ve never consulted Google Maps before I voted.
My computer’s Google Earth is still showing 12/1/23 for the Pacific Palisades area. The imagery for the location of my own house (west of Tucson) is from 12/25/25, and I know it updated in April of 2023 before that. Did some spot checking around the U.S. and imagery dates are all between 2022 and 2025, including places I’ve never looked at before.
So apparently Google Earth does update its imagery automatically, but not on the same schedule for everyone everywhere. I have no idea why this should be.
Leftist Google only fixes its bias when it gets caught and is made a public example of it.
We see the same kinds of things with Google YouTube. The ‘Ministry of Truth’ is coming.
If a youtuber posts something revealing or profound exposing the NWO,WEF Davos, Obama sycophants, if they are not outright content banned immediately, then they get 30 minute front end loaded Ads full of repulsive imagery content.
Those telling the truth are running out of time to wake people up.
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