Online posts this month claimed that Muslims intentionally lit separate church fires in Quebec, or that they are responsible for more than 100 church arsons across Canada. None of the specific fires cited in the posts were found to involve arson; they were in fact caused by lightning, construction or unknown reasons. A spike in church burnings across Canada that began in 2021 has not been tied to any specific group.
THE CLAIM
An X post on Aug. 9 claimed that churches in France were “burning down one after another” and included a video that shows part of a building ablaze, with a small graveyard visible in the foreground. “The Saint Philomène Church in Mercier was burned by Muslims,” the post, which has received about 8,000 likes and 364,000 views, added.
Other social media users repeated the claim blaming Muslims, with one account stating the church was in Canada.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Similar posts spread online this month, with users sharing separate videos of church fires alongside Islamophobic claims. One video shows the collapse of a blazing church steeple; multiple online posts claimed a Muslim migrant intentionally started the fire.
Other posts made the same claim about another video that shows a church on fire next to a parking lot.
“More than 120 churches have been burned to the ground or vandalized by Muslims in Canada,” claims an Instagram post from Aug. 15 that was reposted to Instagram, X and Threads.
Several of the social media accounts spreading the...
Online posts this month claimed that Muslims intentionally lit separate church fires in Quebec, or that they are responsible for more than 100 church arsons across Canada. None of the specific fir...