CNN —A slew of viral conspiracy videos on social media have made baseless claims that the Maui wildfires were started intentionally as part of a land grab, highlighting how quickly misinformation spreads after a disaster. Still, conspiracy theories continue to circulate as nearly 400 people are still unaccounted for. It’s not uncommon for conspiracy theories to make the rounds after a national crisis. Social media platform X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. That means posts sharing conspiracy theories that spark fear and emotion may perform better in a crisis than those sharing straightforward, accurate information.

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Persons: hasn’t, Hurricane Dora, It’s, Renee DiResta, ” DiResta, “, ”, TikTok, Elena Hernandez, ” Hernandez, Instagram, Michael Inouye, ” Inouye Organizations: CNN, Electric, Stanford University, SpaceX, YouTube, ABI Research Locations: Maui —, Maui, Hurricane, ”, California, Hawaii