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.

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.

Hawaii fires deliberately lit

India Bangladesh Nepal. Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker. Claim Laser attacks led to the deadly wildfires in Hawaii in August Fact Viral images are of unrelated events from One image is most likely of a cold-weather phenomenon after a meteor strike in Michigan, while the other is of a SpaceX rocket launch in the same year. Wildfire conspiracy theories have been around since Wildfires in Maui, the second-largest island in Hawaii, have reportedly killed at least 55 people, a toll expected to rise, and unleashed destruction on the historic resort town of Lahaina — a residential and tourist destination that dates back to the s. The fast-moving inferno, which started on Tuesday, is said to be fuelled by strong winds and low humidity. Hurricane Dora, a category 4 storm about miles south of Hawaii, contributed to the damaging winds over Maui. Newschecker ran a reverse image search, which led us to this Spanish news report, dated January 17, , stating that the United States Geological Survey USGS confirmed the fall of a meteorite on the outskirts of Detroit Michigan that caused a small tremor of intensity 2 on the Richter scale. We then learnt that the viral image has been in circulation since January 17, , and that it has nothing to do with lasers or wildfires. Articles on these light pillars seen around Ohio and Detroit in January can be read here and here. A relevant keyword search led us to this Digital Trends report , dated May 23, , stating that SpaceX logged yet another successful mission, blasting seven satellites into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

Thank you for hawaii fires deliberately lit our journalism. It can be traced back with the help of a reverse image search. Articles on these light pillars seen around Ohio and Detroit in January can be read here and here.

Efforts are underway after deadly wildfires , fueled by hot, dry, and windy weather conditions , devastated parts of Maui, especially the historic town of Lahaina. Images and videos showing the wreckage on the Hawaiian island are spreading on social media, but not all are accurate. As is typical with natural disasters or similar breaking news events, some users have shared unrelated photos and videos to spread a conspiracy theory that the wildfires did not have a natural cause. This image is being shared on social media since the wildfires in Hawaii killed many and caused high-level destruction. It shows a light beam connecting the ground and sky, with smoke at the bottom. We see a hilly, green area with a beach and water in front of it, which could lead to the assumption that it might be Hawaii.

The conditions were ripe for fire, as large amounts of invasive grasses were dry due to drought and high winds helped to rapidly spread flames. Bogus posts on social media, however, are baselessly claiming the fires were intentionally set. The wildfires in Maui, which have killed more than people so far and are the deadliest in the U. Update, Oct. A day or two before Aug.

Hawaii fires deliberately lit

An Aug. It goes on to make an array of other claims, about school being canceled, alarms not sounding, phone alert systems not being used, donations being confiscated and officials denying aid to those who were "not compliant. The post garnered more than likes in five days. Other versions of the post continue to circulate on Instagram.

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Related coverage. Rothschild examines the viral laser conspiracy theory in his forthcoming book Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and Years of Conspiracy Theories. AP Fact Check. Press Releases. Efforts are underway after deadly wildfires , fueled by hot, dry, and windy weather conditions , devastated parts of Maui, especially the historic town of Lahaina. But a search on the internet for previous versions of this image reveals the photo shows a controlled burn at an Ohio oil refinery and was first posted online in January The wildfires in Maui, killed over a , making it the deadliest wildfire in the U. Thank you for supporting our journalism. We then learnt that the viral image has been in circulation since January 17, , and that it has nothing to do with lasers or wildfires. There is no evidence that the Maui wildfires were intentionally set — as part of a "land grab" effort or otherwise. 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. The text reads, "This photo is circulating social media. Wildfire conspiracy theories have been around since Learn more about fact-checking at AP. The photo is from a Facebook comment on a post by The Canton Repository , a local paper, requesting that residents share images of the burn at the Marathon Petroleum refinery.

Hawaii officials said Aug.

The cause or causes of the fires on Maui are still unknown, but no real evidence has emerged to suggest they were deliberately started as part of a land grab. You can reach out to him at nick. Rothschild is not related to the famously wealthy family that is the focus of his book and the target of various antisemitic conspiracy theories. Founded in , AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. Read more. The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Written By Kushel HM. By Shayan Sardarizadeh and Mike Wendling. Alberta premier downplays link between wildfires and climate change, commits to arson investigations False wildfire and election information is thriving online. Thank you for supporting our journalism.