On social media, conspiracy theories about Maui are common

How quickly false information spreads after a disaster is highlight by the several popular conspiracy movies on social media that have made unfound accusations that the Maui wildfires purposely cause as part of a land grab.

The main power provider on Maui, Hawaiian Electric, is under fire for failing to shut down power lines when high winds cause hazardous fire conditions, even though the source of the fires has not yet been identifie. Hawaii Electric has state that both the company and the government looking into what happen. In addition to dealing with a drought, Hurricane Dora in the south cause severe winds in Maui. The threat of wildfires has long been in the area.

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Nevertheless, there are still about 400 persons missing, and conspiracy ideas are constantly being spread.

Following a national catastrophe, conspiracy theories frequently circulate. Renee DiResta, a research manager at Stanford University who specializes in the study of disinformation, claims that when individuals frighten or feel powerless, they frequently seek out ways to make sense of the environment.

According to DiResta, theories that connect a crisis to a particular villain present a villain to blame and a person to maybe hold accountable. The most convincing and powerful conspiracy theories typically have a kernel of truth at their core and link to an existing set of worldviews.

For instance, a person who doesn’t trust the government could be more likely to believe someone who complains online about a government organization.

The fires, which claime the lives of at least 114 people earlier this month, said by conspiracy theorists to have been organize as a means of displacing Maui’s less privilege citizens to make way for multimillion dollar buildings.

A user claims in one video that a friend sent him a video of a laser beam directly aimed towards the city. He said that this attack used direct energy weapons. Although Instagram has included a label identifying the video as fake information, it is still available online.

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