Los Angeles Wildfires Trigger Conspiracy Theories and Hate

FALSE NARRATIVE #2: Jews are responsible for— and deserve to suffer because of — the wildfires

Invoking classic tropes about disproportionate Jewish influence, antisemitic figures on social media blamed Jews at large for the Los Angeles wildfires.

On X, antisemitic conspiracy theorist Stew Peters reshared a post that referred to Stewart and Lynda Resnick — owners of the Wonderful Company — as a “Jewish billionaire couple” with the caption, “It really is one group causing all the world’s problems.” Rumors about the Resnicks have falsely accused them of “controlling” the water in California, suggesting they contributed to water shortages that have made it harder to contain the fires.



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FALSE NARRATIVE #3: Israel’s war in Gaza caused the fires

Anti-Zionist influencers and groups are blaming Israel as a key catalyst for the wildfires.

For example, on X, far right and anti-Zionist influencer Jackson Hinkle suggested that U.S. funding for both Israel and Ukraine has taken away from the Los Angeles Fire Department’s ability to combat the fires; his post has garnered over 26K likes. Similar narratives followed the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton in 2024, when false claims suggested that FEMA had insufficient funds for hurricane relief due to U.S. aid towards Israel.

Anti-Zionist groups including Code Pink and certain chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) attempted to draw explicit connections between Israel’s war in Gaza and the Los Angeles wildfires. On Instagram, these groups suggested that Israel’s military actions are a form of ecocide, meaning that Israel’s actions in Gaza are contributing disproportionately to global warming or that aid to Israel means the U.S. government doesn’t have adequate funds to fight the fires and climate change generally.



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Fun.

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am stuck in the middle a Jew!