Online disinformation about the LA wildfires has sparked a resurgence of bizarre conspiracy theories revolving around ‘smart cities’.
More than 100,000 people have had to be evacuated and 10 died after fires tore through parts of Los Angeles and surrounding areas.
An estimated 10,000 buildings have been destroyed, including affluent suburbs, churches, Hollywood film locations and a school whose alumni include Will.i.am and Forest Whitaker.
A number of wild claims have been touted, including one from none other than President-elect Donald Trump who said the fires are ‘all [the] fault’ of California governor Gavin Newsom.
Right-wingers have also seized on a video of Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) firefighters to blame Democrats for allegedly diverting supplies to Ukraine.
Firefighters were seen using small canvas bags to quickly put out a garbage fire.
Widely-shared social media posts claimed the firefighters were resorting to using women’s handbags due to budget cuts.
Officials said the bags were part of standard gear, and are a more efficient way to tackle small fires than using a hose, which takes time to set up.
One of the strangest theories which generated traffic online is that the fires were deliberately set in order to create ‘smart cities’.
Fact-checkers Politifact said Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, had flagged a number of posts which created a buzz around this idea.
The posts made confused and sometimes inaccurate references to plans for improving planning, public transport and sustainability, loosely grouped under the term ‘smart cities’.
Some of these plans include retrofitting homes to become more energy-efficient, or bringing bus and train networks online.
A 2020 United Nations document called People-Smart Sustainable Cities defines the term as ‘an innovative city that uses information and communication technologies and other means to improve quality of life, efficiency of urban operation and services, and competitiveness’.
The UN has not made ‘smart cities’ a defined part of its 2030 agenda, contrary to some of the claims.
There have also been no references to any need to destroy existing buildings or structures.
Politifact said its investigators ‘found no credible evidence or reports that Los Angeles or other areas in the U.S. are being destroyed to build smart cities’.
Authorities in LA briefly investigated the possibility that an individual was responsible for starting one of the blazes, which has been named the Kenneth Fire.
A man was arrested on suspicion of arson after being detained by residents when he was allegedly caught trying to start another blaze in the Woodland Hills area.
One woman involved int he citizen’s arrest told local media the man appeared to be using a ‘propane tank or… like a flame thrower’ to try to ‘light something on fire’.
Los Angeles Police chief Dominic Choi on Friday said investigators decided not to charge the man with arson after interviewing him, and he was instead arrested for an unrelated probation violation.
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