As Canada records its worst wildfire season in history, a conspiracy theory has emerged online suggesting that environmental activists intentionally set some of the fires.
There are more wildfires burning in Canada than at any time in recent years, with more than 3 million hectares (9.6 million acres) burned and tens of thousands of people forced to evacuate. “I would bet that a large portion of the wildfires raging across the country are being started by green terrorists who want to fuel their climate change campaign,” Maxime Bernier, former foreign minister and current leader of the Canadian People’s Party, tweeted.
On TikTok, a video that has been viewed nearly 20,000 times claims that the fires in Nova Scotia are “intentionally set to promote a climate change agenda.” One post also suggests that since 90% of Alberta’s fires are human-caused, “eco-terrorists” are likely behind them.
As wildfires spread across the province of Quebec, some are skeptical about how they could all start on the same day. A Facebook video with more than 1 million views blames a “terrorist attack” for the fires. The cause of the fires is under investigation. But Karine Pelletier of Quebec’s Forest Fire Service said many fires are human-caused, but they are often accidental. Lightning strikes have recently been blamed for several wildfires in Quebec.
HANH NGUYEN (According to AFP)
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