If anyone was questioning the importance of fact checking (a hot topic this past month), the past week's 'reporting' on the wildfires in California should only highlight just how damaging it is when unchecked misinformation is broadcast and re-broadcast almost instantly. Yes, anyone on earth now has the capacity to make a big, bold statement in the palm of their hands (factual or not) and broadcast that to millions. Instantly. Globally. The "media" (or our sources of news) now lie in the hands of people we don't know at all.

Once the dust settles, I hope there will be a detailed, thorough investigation into what exactly worked and did not work before and during this tragedy. I hope those with all the brilliant advice emerge again after all their attention seeking posts boosted their social media income or political ambitions to show us how to prevent and extinguish fires raging in 80 miles per hour winds. I hope those who saw mis-steps and errors speak up. I hope all of this is done with a full inventory, a 100% assessment of everything, not the selective kind politicians love so dearly, so that real, workable solutions can be identified and enacted. There are always blunders in the midst of a crisis and disaster.  It's easy to judge from afar, but much harder to proactively initiate real systems for prevention and combat.

We see the misinformation machine in real estate too. Just last night I watched a YOUTUBE video of 'some guy' blabbering with his "expert advice" on the videos of other agents listings. Within 2 minutes of this transparent attempt at fame and fortune he had mis-stated multiple facts. Not things we could debate....hard facts. Yes, they still exist.

We saw Covid coming in December 2019. Did we have a perfect plan in place? We have witnessed multiple hurricanes approaching many days before they make landfall and yet hundreds have died with tens of billions in damage. And not just coastal properties. Irene decimated upstate New York mountain villages. Tornado watches usually identify high risk, but often the sirens sound the alarm very late, maybe just in time to save lives, not property. Nature is much, much larger than all of us. It can be controlled, but only to a certain extent. Can we build smarter, better to protect our homes and neighborhoods better? I am certain we can and will. But this will only happen if we stop blaming and start working together to identify and enact real solutions that actually work. This can only happen if we remove all politics and personal ideologies and focus 100% on real, practical solutions.

Blame is easy. Spreading misinformation is easy too, but it is damaging whether from a government, politician, influencer, podcaster, or simple individual poster with an i-phone. Proven, effective solutions that can be enacted are the tough stuff. And they are only possible with hard facts and data, not feelings. Let's toughen up!