Watch Video: How scammers exploit wildfire chaos in Southern California with fake claims
While investigators work to find out what caused multiple wildfires in the Los Angeles area, some conspiracies about the fires’ origins have spread on social media platforms.
Posts about baseless theories — ranging from celebrity involvement to secret government weapons — have racked up millions of views.
Despite fact-checking efforts, researchers say conspiracies of this kind regularly emerge after large wildfires.
“I think that the more emotionally overwhelming it is, the more likely we are to just see high volumes of conspiracy theories to cope and make people feel like they have control,” said misinformation researcher Abbie Richards.
Misleading videos have fueled false claims that directed energy weapons, often referred to as DEWs, ignited the flames. The conspiracy theory suggests that governments or secret organizations use lasers or microwave systems to ignite fires.
Experts have repeatedly debunked these claims, attributing irregular burn patterns to natural factors like wind, terrain and vegetation.
While the U.S. has developed and tested DEWs for military applications — such as disabling enemy drones or missiles — there is no credible evidence of DEWs being employed in civilian settings, including for igniting wildfires.
The DEW theory also surfaced during the California wildfires of 2018, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene...
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