To help fight fraud, GoFundMe created an online hub that contains verified fundraising pages related to the L.A.-area wildfires.
Mandy Moore shut down critics who took issue after she shared a GoFundMe page dedicated to helping her in-laws, who lost 'everything' amid the ongoing fires in Los Angeles.
A 93-year-old grandfather lost his Pacific Palisades house — which he’d bought in 1963 with his wife, who recently died — to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, leaving him with only a small suitcase of clothes and not a single personal photo or keepsake.
Collectively, they’d raised more than $100 million as of Tuesday evening, a GoFundMe spokesperson told me. (The company did not immediately respond when asked where the totals currently stand.) In recent days,
More than $100 million has been donated to victims of the Los Angeles wildfires through GoFundMe campaigns — the popular crowdfunding platform that verifies all accounts to protect against scams.
Afterward, Moore shared a few GoFundMe pages on her Instagram account, including her in-laws, who she mentioned were just weeks away from welcoming their first child. This drew ire from followers claiming the actress should donate her own money instead of asking “regular people.” Moore gave the following response in the now-deleted Instagram post:
You want beef with your worst nightmare, which is me right now? You post about Mandy Moore. I will ride for Mandy Moore,” the “Hills” alum said.
Mandy Moore shared a fundraiser for her in-laws amid the Los Angeles fires and said the subsequent backlash was not "helpful or empathetic."
In the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires, Flavor Flav is using his influence and platform to assist those impacted with the launch of a fundraiser. On Monday (Jan. 20), the Public Enemy member announced the new initiative,
"Not enough is being done for the Black families and community in the aftermath of the California fires," the rapper wrote on Instagram.
After Palisades natives banded together on WhatsApp and raised more than $120,000 on GoFundMe, they face what experts say has become a common scenario after natural disasters: Unexpected scrutiny and challenges as they attempt to manage and distribute the funds.