What Conspired To Trigger The Maui Fires?

The latest iteration of the baseless conspiracy theory on Maui’s wildfires uses cherry-picked images to falsely suggest that only blue items survived the blaze, suggesting that the island was hit by a laser that either sparked the fire or did all the damage itself. A wildland firefighter debunks false claims that the fires in Maui were caused by giant lasers or energy weapons and urges people to trust local officials and experts.

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. A photo of a fire and a light in the sky has been used to spread a conspiracy theory that the government used a direct energy weapon to ignite the wildfires that killed 50 people in Maui. Far-right conspiracy theorists seized on the same theory in connection with Maui’s fire, falsely claiming the U.S. government had used a targeted “energy weapon” to start the fire.

As dramatic images of the aftermath of the Maui wildfires spread on social media, so are conspiracy theories about what caused it. False claims about the deadly wildfires in Hawaii, including that shadowy forces orchestrated the disaster with a laser beam, have gained traction online. As Maui grapples with one of the deadliest wildfires in recent U.S. history, it is also dealing with social media-fueled conspiracy theories. Misinformation and conspiracy theories have spread online, underscoring the shortcomings of social media firms’ enforcement policies following disasters.