California is currently experiencing a severe series of wildfires. The wildfires began on January 7, 2025, with the most catastrophic fire, the Pacific Palisades fire, starting in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. These devastating fires have burned more than 23,700 acres, destroyed over 12,000 structures, and claimed at least 25 lives so far. The fires have significantly impacted the economy, potentially causing damages exceeding $275 billion. In addition to the destruction of property and loss of life, the fires have caused severe harm to animals.
In the wake of this catastrophic event, the internet is abuzz with misinformation surrounding the tragic fire incident in California. Surprisingly, the accounts that are continuously contributing to the propagation of misinformation are predominantly from India. Several radical Islamist handles are endangering disinformation through Platform X (formerly Twitter), while also exalting the fire in California. They contend that the fire in America is a manifestation of Allah’s justice, seen as retribution for America’s support to Israel against Palestine.
Misinformation Surrounding California Fire
-The Islamist handle, Chandni, posted an old image of two women and wrote that American citizens should stop crying, as Muslims have become accustomed to such suffering.
–Zafar, shared a video of firefighters extinguishing a fire using a canvas bag filled with water—designed for handling small fires—and falsely claimed that in a superpower country like America, women’s purses are being used to fight fires.
–Rizwan Haider, sharing a video of a plane crash incident that occurred in Chile a year ago, falsely linked it to the ongoing California wildfire.
–Asfaq, drawing a comparison with the condition of Muslims in Gaza, shared a video from 2017 of a rabbit being rescued from flames. He asserted, “Imagine how much they care for a rabbit, yet their country, America, along with Israel, dropped bombs on thousands of innocent children and burned them alive.”
-Sharing the video of the passenger bus exploding in Brazil, Shizu Nawaz, falsely claimed that the video is from California.
–Sadaf Afreen, an alleged journalist spreading misinformation under the guise of journalism, shared an artificially generated (AI) video depicting helicopters engaged in firefighting operations and falsely claimed that the fire was escalating in America.
-Ayesha, sharing an old image of a house unaffected by the Lahaina fire incident in August 2023, made the bizarre claim that the incident occurred in California and that a house with a Quran inside was unharmed by the fire. In reality, the house survived the Lahaina fire due to factors such as architectural features or specific environmental conditions.
–Chandni and Asra Naaz, sharing an AI-generated video of American pop singer Taylor Swift, falsely claimed that she referred to the wildfire as “divine retribution” for the U.S. financial aid to Israel in the war against Gaza.
-Crime Report India claimed that Bhuvesh Patel, a Hindu, was caught attempting to start a fire using a torch blower with the intent to loot areas already devastated by the flames. It turned out that the accused name is Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, who was detained for a probation violation near the Kenneth Fire.
Celebration of Catastrophic Blaze in California
One account observed actively contributing to the propagation of disinformation surrounding the California wildfire was Chandni. The handle shared a two-year-old video from Pakistan and falsely claimed that every available and advanced technology had failed to extinguish the fire in America. In such a situation, they stated, Muslims are praying by offering Namaz. In another post, this handle was found rejoicing the California wildfire, stating that after America, Tel Aviv would be next. Chandni wrote, “O Allah burn Tel Aviv (Israel) and create fear in their hearts.” The rejoicing did not end there; the handle shared an AI-generated image of a city engulfed in flames and referred to Allah as a superpower.
Ayesha Khan made another absurd claim, this time referring to California’s ‘Griffith Observatory’ as a mosque and stating that while the fire had spread to Los Angeles, this mosque remained unharmed. She called it the glory of Allah. Shaukat Ali asserted that half of America is engulfed in fire and the other half is covered with snow, claiming this is Allah’s nature. Many Palestine sympathizers applauded the fire ravaging America, with user Hakim stating that it took 400 days for Gaza to be destroyed, but in just 4 days, Los Angeles, California, turned to ashes. Hassan wrote, “You burned Gaza, and Allah is burning you.”
Furthermore, many handles, like Zubair, claimed that America spent billions to send weapons to Israel to massacre Gaza, and today, America doesn’t even have enough water to extinguish the fire. Sharing an AI-generated video of a city burning in flames, Kavish Aziz wrote that it took one year for Gaza to be destroyed, but it took just one day for California and Los Angeles to be destroyed.
Maaz Ahmed remarked that they could not afford fire services for California but raised 30 billion dollars from the public’s tax dollars to fund Israel’s actions against children in Gaza. Nizam, showcasing his lack of sympathy for America, stated that the day is not far when the sun of evil America will set, and all its crimes will be accounted for one by one. “We do not have even an iota of sympathy for the evil Americans who provide funds to bomb Palestine. May Allah further increase the troubles of those oppressors.
The celebration of the fire in California persisted, with many calling it an act of Allah’s justice. The handle Abdul wrote that America killed lakhs of Muslims, and now, after the fire, America, which calls itself a superpower, is unable to do anything. The only superpower is Allah. Jainav and Tanvir rejoiced, stating that Allah has wreaked havoc across all of America. Mudasir expressed that, like America, fire should also break out in Israel, burning all the Jewish pigs along with Israel’s evil PM to ashes. Azhari wrote that Allah is raining fire on those who bomb Palestine, and no one is saved, nor will anyone be saved from God’s justice. Saba wrote, “My Allah is very big.”
One similarity observed among these accounts propagating fallacies and exalting the fire in California was that they were primarily Indian Muslims with a strong pro-Palestine stance. These accounts strongly condemned Israel’s retaliation. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Israel. According to the BBC, 1,200 people were killed in this attack, and more than 250 were taken hostage. This triggered an Israeli military offensive in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians. The US, UK, Israel, and many other countries have declared Hamas a terrorist organization. Hamas was founded in 1987 as a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
It is well known that Islamic fundamentalism is a significant problem in India. Due to this, India was divided, but despite this division, fundamentalism did not end. These Islamic fundamentalists support Hamas on the issue of Palestine and also oppose the US government because of its support for Israel.
It is baffling that anger and hatred are being spread against the people of a country due to resentment against its government. The common people of America are also suffering because of the wildfire incident. This is being described as Allah’s wrath, with prayers being offered for American citizens to be burned in the fire.
It is worth noting that the US government has provided financial assistance several times during the Israel-Palestine tension. In June 2024, the US provided life-saving humanitarian assistance of $404 million for Palestinian citizens, bringing the total US assistance in the last eight months to more than $674 million. An additional $336 million in humanitarian assistance was announced in September 2024. This includes critical food aid, expanded assistance in emergency health care, nutrition, psychosocial services, and increased access to safe drinking water, hygiene products, and sanitation services. Following this announcement, the total US humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people since October 2023 has exceeded $1 billion.
Apart from the help provided by the US government, common citizens have also conducted many protests and demonstration in support of Palestine. Despite all this, Indian Muslims are spreading hatred towards American citizens. This attitude reflects a mentality that derives distorted thinking and wicked pleasure from the suffering of others.
Fake News & X Monetization
India is the most populous country in the world, with a large number of internet users. People use various platforms like Facebook, X, and WhatsApp, but X remains the primary platform for spreading misinformation and disinformation. In the US, hate and misinformation about the fire incident have reached a large portion of the population, yet it is not being curbed.
Prior, to Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform in 2022, accounts posting inappropriate or false content were warned before being suspended. However, now these accounts are promoted, especially if they have a blue checkmark. Fake news is believed to have increased due to X’s revenue program. For example, X user Chandani, as mentioned earlier, regularly shares fake news and celebrates tragedies related to the California Fire, gaining significant attention and engagement with each post on X. Her content provokes emotional reactions and it reaches a wide audience due to X algorithms. As a result, many users, unaware of the misinformation, may believe and spread these false narratives. Chandani’s influence is not an isolated case, millions of similar users contribute to the rapid spread of fake news. This growing phenomenon poses a serious threat to public trust and societal harmony.
Conclusion: The spread of fake news, celebration of tragedies, and propaganda by certain Islamist groups related to the California fires, is a dangerous practice that not only misleads the public but also tarnishes India’s image on the global stage. The unchecked reach of such content fuels division, hatred, and misinformation, undermining the credibility of genuine discourse. These individuals are not only capitalizing on human suffering but are also manipulating social media platforms for their own gain, exploiting algorithms to maximize reach and monetization.
