Featured Image Credit: Apu Gomes/Stringer / DAVID SWANSON/Contributor / Getty
Popular false claims around 'directed energy weapons' have emerged again alongside recent LA wildfires as social media spots blue objects that support their conspiracy theory.
Over 130,000 individuals have been ordered to evacuate key areas of Los Angeles following wildfire outbreaks, with at least 1,000 reported houses and buildings burned down in the horrific event.
While Elon Musk and SpaceX have used Starlink to provide service to affected areas, some have taken to social media to spout false claims that the fires were orchestrated by nefarious laser weapons, reigniting conspiracies of 'directed energy weapons' (otherwise known as 'DEW') that started with the 2023 Hawaii wildfires.
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The original conspiracy centered the idea that 'elites' or 'government agencies' deliberately used directed energy laser weapons to enact explosions and spread fires across parts of Hawaii, including Maui and Lahaina.
This was unilaterally proven to be false through reports from the BBC and other key media sources, but that hasn't stopped the conspiracy from emerging once more in the midst of the devastating LA fires.
'Independent researcher' In2ThinAir on X has proposed that the LA wildfire began after 'military crafts' spread chaff in Area 51 that then flew over into the wildfire area, allowing it to spread at the scale at which it has.
One reply, as reported by Sportskeeda, alleges that "this had Maui written all over it," and many somehow are also in agreement.
Another seemingly key aspect of the DEW conspiracy is the survival of blue objects, which many have spotted across news coverage of the fires.
"Can someone let me know where I can get a ranging wildfire DEW proof recycle bin?" asked one user on X, with a picture of two blue recycling bins among the remnants of a burnt building.
Conspiracy theorists have called this 'operation blue', supposedly proving that DEW were used as the 'frequencies' and 'wavelengths' don't work on blue-colored materials.
While the initial cause of the LA wildfires is still under investigation, the scale at which it spread, as per USA Today was due to the powerful winds in the area, low humidity, and dry vegetation due to a lack of rain - all signs that are linked to climate change, not a laser-weapon conspiracy.
Luca Carmignani, assistant professor at San Diego University, outlines: "We knew that the vegetation was very dry already and then on top of this, with strong winds like Santa Ana winds that are very dry and gusty, the fire risk was very high."
Heather Zehr, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, adds that "it is that dramatic change from very wet to very dry that can set up these more extreme situations, and that is likely affected by climate change."
