An LA A Times writer faced backlash after claiming that white drivers were “polluting the air” that blacks and Latinos breathe.

Sammy Roth cited a study that calls the city’s freeway planning “racially motivated” because it means white people living in suburban Los Angeles pass through different neighborhoods on their way to work every day.

But Roth’s piece was called “idiotic” on social media. Twitter put an inaccuracy warning on it before later removing it.

In his work, the writer referred to Southern University California The report found that Los Angeles residents “who drive more are less exposed to air pollution, while Angelenos who drive less are more exposed.”

The study — “Local Inequalities in the Relative Production and Exposure to Auto-Vehicle Air Pollution in Los Angeles” — was authored by Professor Jeff Boeing, who spoke with Roth.

Los Angeles is the most polluted city in the US in 2021, according to a study by IQair. Photo of the city in March 2020

“He told me that it comes down to a lot of the shameful history of low-income communities of color in Los Angeles County that have been torn up to make way for freeways — a history that has been extensively documented by The Times,” Roth, who of ‘is the managing director of the newspaper Energy and a reporter on the environment, said.

“Today, many residents of the county’s whiter and more affluent neighborhoods — who often had the option of keeping highways out of their own backyards — commute to work through low-income black and Latino neighborhoods separated by the 10, 110, 105 and other freeways. ‘

The university report was published in the peer-reviewed Urban Studies this January.

The abstract reads: “Decades of racially motivated freeway infrastructure planning and residential segregation shape today’s disparities in who creates and is exposed to vehicular air pollution, but there are opportunities for urban planning and transportation policy to mitigate these inequities.”

Twitter posted a warning on the article that read: “This claim is false.

“This assumption is based on research that shows that those who drive are less exposed to air pollution, while those who drive less are exposed to more pollution.”

He also noted that the article misrepresented Los Angeles’ diversity quotient, as its population is 48.4 percent Hispanic/Latino and 28.1 percent white only.

The warning was later retracted, but Roth’s article sparked outrage among social media users.

Nick Short, director of communications at the Claremont Institute, wrote: “Congratulations to the author of this piece @Sammy_Roth. You managed to write not only the most idiotic, but also the most racist piece of 2023!”

Roth cited research by University of Southern California professor Jeff Boing

In 2021, America ranked 90th in the world for pollution

Self-described “anti-communist” TV host Jesse Kelly added: “REMINDER: There are no separate communist groups.

“They are all the same group with the same goal: the destruction of this nation.

“That’s why seemingly separate groups work together. The climate freaks are working with race frauds who are working with LGBTQ demons who are working with…’

In a 2021 IQAir study, America was ranked the 90th most polluted country in the world. The top five included Bangladesh, Chad, Pakistan, Tajikistan and India.

The study also found that Los Angeles was the most polluted city in the United States