Eleven people are dead, 10,000 buildings destroyed and over 100,000 evacuated from their homes.
Sigge Eklund, Paris Hilton, Ricki Lake and Mandy Moore are some of the celebrities who lost their luxury villas in the huge fires in California, where the total financial losses are estimated to amount to SEK 1,700 billion.
Many different conspiracy theories abound on social media about what is behind the fires.
Suppression of evidence against P Diddy
One is about the fire allegedly being started to destroy evidence against musician and record company executive Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Combs has been in custody since September on suspicion of running an entire “sex crime empire”.
Now Catherine Austin Fitts, who worked under former President George HW Bush, wants to know how many people connected to Diddy were affected by the fires, according to Newsweek.
– In events like the fires in Los Angeles, I look for patterns. How many of the homeowners were on Diddy’s list?, she asks in the Financial Rebellion podcast.
Fitts says that she has seen “terrible” measures taken to hide pedophilia, and that she would not be “surprised” if that is part of the reason behind the forest fires.
“Eerily similar” to the fires in “The Simpsons”
The popular television series “The Simpsons” has been on the air for decades and has been noted over the years for allegedly predicting the future.
Among other things, that Donald Trump would become president – ten years before he stepped into office for the first time in 2016.
In an episode that aired 20 years ago, Springfield was hit by a wildfire that threatened the city and its residents. On social media, Simpsons fans say the scenes are “eerily” similar to the fires going on in California today.
Musk and Trump blame gender equality
At the same time, Elon Musk and President-elect Trump have come out and blamed the fires on gender equality.
After two decades, Kristin Crowley was named Los Angeles fire chief in 2022. She has been singled out in many posts on X as the culprit in the drama for her work for inclusion, diversity and equality within the agency. A strategy called “DEI”.
“They prioritized DEI over saving lives and homes,” writes Musk on X.
Donald Trump also claims that California Governor Gavin Newsom blocked the flow of water to the southern parts of the state to protect an endangered fish.
Other conspiracy theories – after disasters
Last fall, Hurricane Helene moved in over, among other things, the state of Florida. The hurricane is the deadliest in the United States since Katrina in 2005.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk have spread claims that the crisis agency FEMA hindered the aid efforts of private individuals, and put money on illegal immigrants instead of rescuing those in need.
More extreme conspiracy theories spread on social media. Among other things, that the authorities control the weather and that the hurricane was steered towards areas with many Republican voters.
Authorities and aid workers have repeatedly appealed to Americans to stop spreading misinformation about the relief efforts.
Authorities and aid workers have repeatedly appealed to Americans to stop spreading misinformation.
“The consequences of sharing false or misleading information are enormous. People’s safety depends on accurate and reliable information,” says David Harker, professor and chair at East Tennessee State University.