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What's The Meaning Of All These 'Blue Roof' Memes? The Wild Conspiracy Theory That Lasers Started The 2023 Hawaii Fires Explained
August 2023 saw flames ripping through Hawaii, predominantly laying devastation on the island of Maui. As residents and survivors reeled from a disaster many accused the government of having mismanaged, a different group of people began sharing strange conspiracy theories about a supposed blue shield protecting "blue cars," "blue umbrellas, and blue roofs from a fire-causing laser.
An episode of the Simpsons showed you a Direct Energy Weapon attack, similar to Hawaii. pic.twitter.com/vVzjjV2iMx
— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) August 15, 2023
Such conspiracy theories about government-funded, fire-causing "lasers" aren't new, as seen in bizarre assertions about a Jewish space laser put forth by United States Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene back in 2018. Here is the latest iteration of the tin foil hat belief about laser-induced disasters, complete with a "Simpsons predicted this" angle.
What Is The Conspiracy Theory About Lasers And The 2023 Hawaii Wildfires?
After the Hawaii wildfires began receiving news coverage in early August 2023, several online conspiracy theorists began propagating the idea that the fires were man-made in a manner that goes beyond being a side-effect of climate change. Several posts about a "space laser" starting the fire were shared on August 9th, and photographs of such a laser made the rounds soon after.
The photo supposedly depicting a "space laser" zoning in on Hawaii was in fact a long-exposure photo of the 2019 SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base. However, multiple fact-checks from fellow X users and publications like Forbes did not deter people from sharing the photo as a means to "ask questions." And such "questions" did not stop there; people began to pick apart photos and videos from the aftermath of the fire in an attempt to prove yet another bizarre theory; that the "space laser" seemingly spared blue colored objects.
What Is The 'Blue Roof,' 'Blue Umbrella' 'Blue Shield' Conspiracy Theory?
Around August 17th, 2023, TikTok conspiracy theorists began speculating that the so-called "space laser" they assert caused the Maui fires was actually placed on a "setting" that passes over blue objects. The reasoning for this outlandish belief was footage from the aftermath of the fires that showed blue umbrellas, blue cars, and blue roofs supposedly suffered less damage compared to their surroundings.
@activateyourpinealgland #stitch with @StateNationalsrock16 #greenscreensticker another BLUES CLUES #hawaiifires #mauifire2023 #mauifires ♬ original sound – Bianca Ruehlig
@activateyourpinealgland Replying to @bgillespie113 #greenscreensticker blues clues #hawaiifires #mauifires #emfshield #frequencies #cymatones ♬ original sound – Bianca Ruehlig
These theorists referred to the hoax "laser" as a "DEW" or "Directed Energy Weapon." TikToker @activateyourpinealgland was a big propagator of such false information, with his videos gathering anywhere between hundreds of thousands to sometimes millions of views. The theory caught on, with other TikTokers sharing photos of a space laser firing at a blue piece of fabric and leaving it unaffected.
@artielebedev How to protect your clothes from a blue laser 🔵🔥 #bluelaser #lasersafety #scienceexperiment #fluorescentclothes #reflectiveclothes ♬ original sound – Artem Lebedev
@hypsy217 #eattherich #coincidence #maui #lahaina #simpsons #blueumbrellas #bluecars #blueumbrellasmaui #mauibluecar #mountaindewmauiblast ♬ I Got 5 On It – Tethered Mix from US – Michael Abels & Luniz
Such videos continued to go viral, regardless of the fact that the effectiveness of such "space lasers" at avoiding blue items in no way confirmed the existence of a DEW at all. The conspiracy theory has been debunked by numerous fact-checkers on the internet and can be personally confirmed by anyone willing to do a dated reverse image search.
For the full history of the blue roof Hawaii fires conspiracy theory, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
