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Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Hawaii wildfires: 'Directed energy weapon' and other false claims go viral - Yahoo Sports

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.

Some of the most popular theories are couched in questions about a "narrative" and make claims that alternative views are being "censored", despite collecting millions of views.

While there are specific rumours circulating about Maui, they fit into a general pattern repeatedly seen after extreme weather events and natural disasters - politically motivated activists seeking to downplay the potential impact of climate change.

'Energy weapon'

Videos and images claiming that the wildfires were not a natural disaster - and were instead caused by a "directed energy weapon", a "laser beam" or explosion - have been viewed millions of times.

One video viewed 10 million times claims to show a large explosion in Maui just before the fires.

But the video was originally a viral clip shared on TikTok in May showing a transformer explosion in Chile.

Chilean TV network Chilevisión ran a report on the viral video, confirming the explosion was the result of a blown transformer caused by strong wind.

An image of a church on fire in Hawaii has been viewed 9 million times, with claims it shows a laser beam striking it.

But it has been digitally altered. The original image - of the...



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