ROOKE: Amid Race Everyone’s Watching, Big Tech ‘Malfunction’ Sparks Criticism For Election Interference

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

Amid the final weeks before Los Angeles voters head to the polls for the mayoral primary, Google Maps quietly reverted satellite imagery of Pacific Palisades and other neighborhoods devastated by the 2025 fires to pre-fire photos.

Lush greenery and intact homes replaced the charred neighborhoods that had accurately reflected the destruction for over a year. Critics accuse Google of altering its map photos to remove visual evidence of the fires that decimated the area in order to “manipulate” the mayoral race.

Machina Labs CEO Edward Mehr posted on X side-by-side Google Maps screenshots of his neighborhood near Sunset Boulevard from before and after the fires. The problem is that the “before” photo was the most recent photo available on the app.

“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,” Mehr said.

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........

© The Daily Caller