Hawaii fires deliberately lit

False claims about the deadly wildfires in Hawaii - including that shadowy forces orchestrated the disaster with a laser beam - have gained traction online. The misleading posts come from a variety of sources and accounts, but generally imply that "elites" or government agencies deliberately started the fires, hawaii fires deliberately lit.

Homes consumed in recent wildfires are seen in Lahaina, Hawaii, Wednesday, Aug. The Associated Press on Wednesday, Aug. It also takes place on another Hawaiian island, not Maui. Many are attempting to connect the dots between the deadliest blaze in the country in more than a century to efforts to incorporate digital and renewable energy technologies into everyday life. The conferences in Hawaii, meanwhile, are broad in scope and not focused solely on smart cities, minute cities, Maui or even the state of Hawaii. At the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences in January, thousands of researchers presented their work on a wide range of information technology issues, not just on smart city-type concepts, explained Tung Bui, an IT professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who chairs the conference. About a dozen were related to smart cities, and none were focused on Maui.

Hawaii fires deliberately lit

Social media users have blamed figures like Elon Musk and Oprah Winfrey for starting the blazes, which have killed at least people. These theories have had devastating real-world impacts, including the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, in which a white supremacist killed 23 people and injured 22 others and cited the great replacement theory as motivation. Experts say the spread of such theories can be attributed to the algorithms central to tech platforms, which prioritize content that receives more engagement. In some cases, platforms inadvertently prioritize such content. An email to Twitter, now known as X, received an automated response. A spokesman confirmed the platform had removed five videos flagged by the Guardian that contained misinformation about the Maui fires. Conspiracy theories like these are only expected to intensify as such disasters are set to increase amid the climate crisis. These concerns are coming into sharp focus ahead of the elections, during which climate concerns and natural disasters are expected to be a major talking point, said Paul. Burned buildings pictured in the aftermath of the Maui wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii. This article is more than 6 months old. Read more.

Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts. One photo shows the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from a California military base in May Image: Matthew A.

A video purporting to show a wig flying off the head of former U. Skip to main content. Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals Learn more about Refinitiv. A night-time video showing streaks of green light in the sky over Hawaii predates the August wildfires in the U. Examples are visible on Instagram here and TikTok here. The wildfires in Maui, killed over a , making it the deadliest wildfire in the U. The cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained, more on this in a Reuters explainer here.

This combination of photos provided by Travis Secrest, a resident of Perry Township in Ohio, shows a flame at the Marathon Petroleum refinery in the winter of The right-hand photo was shared on social media in August with false claims that it shows the wildfires in Maui. Travis Secrest via AP. Both images are unrelated to the fires on Maui. One photo shows the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from a California military base in May

Hawaii fires deliberately lit

Mislabeled videos and images spread across social media as users called into question the origins of the fires, which have killed more than 99 people and destroyed over 2, buildings. One leading theory falsely suggested that the fires were caused by giant lasers. Michael Clark, a wildland firefighter based on Oahu, soon decided he had seen enough. A post shared by Michael Clark wildlandmike. Experts are still working to determine the cause of the fires, which started Aug.

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The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. After he drove to a better vantage point he could see the flare was coming from the refinery. Experts say such theories, which have no proof and can often be easily debunked, can thrive after a disaster strikes as people try to make sense of a tense situation and look for a cause to pinpoint. The other shows a flare from a controlled burn at an oil refinery in Ohio the same year. From the second mark onward, the video can be geolocated here. Image source, EPA. It shows a light beam connecting the ground and sky, with smoke at the bottom. Emotional advice for Hawaii from mayor of Paradise. Conditions were already ripe for wildfires, with a combination of persistent dry weather and drought, when Maui was hit with powerful winds on Aug. The exact impetus of the fires is still being investigated, according to Hawaii Department of Defense spokesperson Jeffrey Hickman.

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The spread of false and misleading information during a tragedy like this is "deeply upsetting," said Mike Rothschild, a journalist and author based in Los Angeles who writes about conspiracy theories and fringe beliefs. Many social media posts claim that a DEW attack was planned to clear the way and build a new Maui. The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. It simply refers to a fire being ignited as a result of human activity, which Flannigan said could be anything from agricultural burning to sparks from a car muffler or recreational vehicle — even a gender-reveal party gone wrong , as was the case with a fire that burned 9, hectares in California two years ago. False claims about the deadly wildfires in Hawaii - including that shadowy forces orchestrated the disaster with a laser beam - have gained traction online. Both Rothschild and Bradshaw acknowledge that conspiracy theories may actually be rooted in some degree of truth. Facebook drives sceptics towards climate denial. The cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained, more on this in a Reuters explainer here. Image source, EPA. Sources Snopes report , January 18, Arstechnica report , May 23,