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Friday, June 27, 2025

Viral video shows men helping woman flee California wildfires, not 'looters' | Fact check - USA TODAY

The claim: Video shows ‘looters' during California wildfires

A Jan. 9 Threads post (direct link, archive link) shows a man carrying white bags down a street as smoke clouds fill the sky behind him. It then cuts to another video of two men carrying a television through the front door of a house.

“Looters seen going through homes," the post's caption reads.

The Threads post was reposted more than 400 times in a day. Similar versions of the claim circulated widely on Instagram and on X.

Fact check roundup: Which claims about LA fires are true or false?

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Our rating: False

The video is miscaptioned. A television news report makes clear the men it shows were helping a woman evacuate her home, not looting it.

Video shows men aiding evacuation, not looting

A series of deadly wildfires scorched more than 50 square miles of the greater Los Angeles area, destroying more than 10,000 structures and killing at least 10 people, officials said. As the fires burned, authorities announced the arrests of at least 20 people suspected of looting.

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But in the video posted to Threads, there is no looting taking place, and the post provides no evidence to support the claim. In an interview with a Los Angeles television station, the woman who lives in the house identified the men as acquaintances of hers who were helping her flee the...



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