Fear, falsehoods and conspiracy theories ignite amid Canada's wildfires

Instead, space lasers, arsonists and government plots to restrict people's movement are some of the causes of the fires, according to fringe online circles. But despite being fringe, these theories are widely circulated and boosted by social media algorithms.

Kawser Ahmed, political science adjunct professor at University of Winnipeg, said almost all conspiracy theories have a spark of truth but are distorted to attract attention or fuel outrage. "We are doing everything that we can to try to protect those homes," Chapman said."We're doing everything that we can to try to make sure that people can get home as fast as they can. And so it has a big impact on our staff."

Scientists are blaming climate change for the severity of Canada's wildfire season. A study by the U.K.-based World Weather Attribution group released this week says greenhouse gas emissions made Quebec's fire weather about 50 per cent more conducive to fire between May and June. Social media algorithms accelerate the spread of conspiracy theories because once someone clicks on one link, other links on similar topics pop up, creating a feedback loop that reinforces false beliefs, he said.Studies have shown that the misinformation that gets the most attention is scary, emotional, moral or ideological, and easy to process, said Timothy Caulfield, Canada Research Chair in health law and policy at the University of Alberta.

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