Snapchat Pledges $5 Million in Aid for Los Angeles Fires

Could Snapchat now emerge as the most respected of the major social media apps?

The ephemeral messaging app, which rose to fame thanks to its controversial content and subsequent popularity among teenage users, has been steadily building its business over the past few years, slowly and steadily. with some delaysbut persistent on his way.

And this week, amid questions swirling around other apps, Snap boss Evan Spiegel is took a step forward in supporting the victims of the Los Angeles fire, a way other tech CEOs could learn from.

According to Spiegel:

“Los Angeles, my heart breaks for you, and yet I love you even more. This melting pot of creativity, innovation and storytelling. This city of angels, who, covered in soot, are already starting anew. For every robber, thousands upon thousands give their time, their treasure, and their prayers. For every coward there is courage. For every finger pointed at blame, thousands of hands are hard at work to heal and bring hope.”

X owner Elon Musk was among them pointing fingers over the fireand the alleged failures of local governments, while other tech CEOs have remained largely silent and have yet to offer any public support packages for the region.

But Spiegel, along with Snapchat co-founder Bobby Murphy, committed $5 million in immediate relief, with a promise to do more in the recovery process:

“We feed evacuees and emergency services and offer free space. We listen to megafire recovery experts and learn every day what more we can do and how we can meet the challenge. We want to cooperate and build together with you.”

Spiegel says more than 150 members of the Snap team were displaced by the disaster, which also burned down his father’s home, where the app was originally founded and launched.

So Spiegel clearly has a more personal connection to the region. Yet despite this, Snapchat is much smaller than the other tech giants, which are instead caught up in their own battles over free speech and censorship.

No doubt they’ll all eventually offer some level of support, but it’s interesting to see Snapchat taking the lead here.

The app that essentially popularized sexting has grown, and in a time of need, Snap is now what we can look to as an example of mature, measured leadership.