Conspiracy theorists will jump onto almost any incident that garners global coverage to push their baseless narratives and to try and pin the blame on pretty much anyone they don’t like, and this now includes the Notre Dame Cathedral fire.
On April 15th 2019, a large fire broke out in Notre Dame Cathedral that caused the spire and much of the roof to collapse. At the time this article has been authored no official statement has been provided as to the cause. However many claim it is likely that the fire was a result of renovation work that was going on at the time.
Of course this simple and mundane explanation for a fire isn’t satisfactory to many online conspiracy theorists, who would much rather push their own more fanciful explanations as to the cause of the fire. All without evidence, or indeed even the charade of following logic, naturally.
Here are some of the most popular theories that have been spreading online.
Fake CNN Twitter accounts were quick to claim that the fire had been confirmed as an act of terrorism despite the Paris prosecutors’ office having ruled out both arson and terrorism. Remember, just because a Twitter account has a known media outlet in its Twitter handle, it doesn’t mean it belongs to that media outlet. In this case, Twitter handle @CNNPolitics2020 isn’t anything to do with CNN, and Twitter have since suspended the account.
As the fire was still burning, TIME contributor Christopher J. Hale tweeted that a “Jesuit friend” who worked in Notre Dame heard from someone else who also worked in the cathedral that they heard that the fire was intentionally started. Perhaps this is the definition of silly “Chinese Whispers” and Hale did quickly append to his tweet that there was “zero evidence” to back up that claim.
Of course, this didn’t stop conspiracy peddling website Infowars from reporting on it, giving the tweet a great deal of attention, and leading Hale to subsequently delete the tweet. As we pointed out above, arson has been ruled out by authorities in Paris.
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This headline was true, but in 2016 after a foiled terror plot near the Notre Dame Cathedral. However a search on Twitter reveals that this story is being posted by hundreds of social media users under the belief that it is connected to the 2019 fire. The two incidents are unrelated.
Fake Twitter accounts are claiming that US Representative Ilhan Omar tweeted “They reap what they sow” in response to the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. Screenshots of the alleged tweet are also spreading on Twitter.
However this was started by fake Twitter accounts, including one masquerading as Fox News (which again has since been suspended.) Ilhan Omar made no such tweet, and the screenshot of the tweet was made by an online tool that allows pranksters to create authentic looking fake tweets from any user they wish.
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A number of videos showing the cathedral burning also purport to show audio of people off-camera shouting Allahu Akbar. However a quick search on YouTube reveals that the majority of the videos used audio recordings that were taken from videos uploaded many years ago. No videos that we’re aware of actually depict those alleged to have shout Allahu Akbar at the scene, nor are there any reputable reports of this happening from anyone who was at the scene.
In the hours after the fire started, a grainy video of what is claimed to be a man wearing “Muslim garb” (or variants claim it was a Yellow Jacket protester) began spreading. However clearer footage from a CNBC live stream shows it was clearly a firefighter. A number of firefighters were seen on the same balcony during that evening as they tackled the fire. We debunked this claim in our article here.
Article will be updated as more stories come to light.