When wildfires raged across Los Angeles County, their government had to move quickly to disseminate accurate information and orders to the public. As fast-moving flames threatened communities, false and misleading information spread online, creating confusion at a time when precision was needed. 

With over half of LA County’s residents speaking a language other than English, ensuring that all communities had access to accurate, real-time information was critical to protecting communities. 

Fighting Misinformation in Multilingual Counties

When emergencies arise, accurate communication can mean the difference between safety and chaos. In the recent wildfires, fabricated reports on social media about evacuation zones, road closures, and fire containment efforts circulated widely, making it harder for residents to distinguish credible updates from dangerous falsehoods. 

For a county as diverse as Los Angeles, this posed a daunting challenge. To combat misinformation and provide real-time, accessible updates, Los Angeles County officials used Wordly AI Translation during press conferences, ensuring residents could receive critical information in their preferred language. With live translation available in over 60 languages, the county bridged language barriers and kept all communities informed.

This multilingual approach allowed emergency officials to:

  • Dispel misinformation quickly by providing translated, fact-checked updates directly from county sources.
  • Ensure accessibility by making life-saving information available to the county’s diverse communities.
  • Foster trust by reinforcing the importance of relying on official communications rather than unverified social media posts.

Cities Nationwide Are Adopting AI Translation to Keep Residents Engaged and Informed

Hundreds of municipalities across the country, including the City of San Jose, Modesto, and Little Rock, are turning to Wordly AI translation to ensure that all residents have access to critical information and key decisions that impact their communities. From emergency updates to city council meetings, Wordly provides real-time translation, helping local governments give a voice to everyone and promote transparency.

Live AI Translation offers the following benefits:

  • Easy – Set up in minutes.
  • Comprehensive – Supports dozens of languages.
  • Flexible – Attendees can read captions or listen to translated audio.
  • Accurate – Proven models and custom glossaries control output.
  • Affordable – No special equipment or human interpreters required.
  • Versatile – Works for in-person and virtual meetings and events, including webinars and training courses.

By implementing AI translation, cities, and counties keep their diverse populations informed about public safety alerts, policy changes, and community resources, ensuring that non-English speakers receive the same vital information as everyone else. This not only bolsters greater civic engagement but also builds trust between local governments and the communities they serve.

Providing live AI translation to official communications can save lives and prevent misinformation from taking hold. More municipalities are following suit, recognizing that inclusive communication isn’t just a convenience, it’s a necessity. To learn more about government translation options, check out this government translation guide.

Wordly provides a high quality, secure, easy to use, and affordable live AI translation and caption solution for communicating across multiple languages. Wordly translates dozens of languages in real-time, making in-person and virtual meetings and events more inclusive, accessible, and engaging. Its SaaS platform meets enterprise-grade security & privacy standards and eliminates the need for human interpreters or special equipment. Millions of users across thousands of organizations – including corporate, non-profit, government, education, and religious sectors – trust Wordly for their multi-language communication needs. For more information, visit https://www.wordly.ai.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of PublicCEO, its sponsors, its employees or any corporate relationships.