FLAME WARS Misinformation and Wildfire in Canadas Climate Conversation 2024

The report analyzes the spread of misinformation during the 2023 Canadian wildfires, noting a surge in arson and government-conspiracy narratives driven by right-wing/anti-establishment networks. It identifies a trend where pandemic-era distrust of public health measures has transitioned into opposition to climate and energy policies. The study also examines the 2024 German farmer protests, finding that Canadian right-wing influencers leveraged these events to frame climate policy as a tool for globalist control, though such efforts had limited traction among the broader Canadian public.

• During the 2023 wildfires, misinformation surged, featuring claims that the fires were caused by lasers, drones, weather control, eco-terrorism, and state-driven arson.
• The online conversation about the 2023 wildfires evolved in stages: an initial surge in May focused on criticizing the Alberta government's preparedness, followed by a peak in June where right-wing/anti-establishment accounts promoted conspiracies that fires were set to justify climate measures.
• Misinformation regarding the 2023 wildfires had real-world physical consequences, including the withdrawal of BC Wildfire Service personnel due to security concerns and an act of arson in Quebec by an individual who believed the government was setting fires.
• There is a documented transition where adversarial networks formed during the COVID-19 pandemic have expanded their targets to include climate and energy policy, framing emergency responses as pretexts for political control.
• The 'climate lockdown' conspiracy theory, which suggests the government would use climate emergencies to restrict movement similar to pandemic lockdowns, gained significant traction during the 2021 federal election after being discussed by politicians.
• Analysis of the Canadian climate conversation on Twitter/X reveals a highly concentrated influence led by political elites, with a distinct and isolated RIGHT/ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT group that frequently engages with conspiratorial content from the UK and Europe.
• In the lead-up to the 2024 wildfire season, the carbon tax became the dominant topic of online climate discussion, whereas the 2023 season saw a broader range of subjects.
• Right-wing accounts in Canada leveraged the 2024 German farmer protests to promote narratives of 'climate communism' and 'globalist climate policies,' though these efforts largely failed to mobilize Canadian farmers against climate policy.

APA

Climate Action Against Disinformation (2024). FLAME WARS Misinformation and Wildfire in Canadas Climate Conversation 2024. https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-Final-REPORT%E2%80%93Wildfire-Misinformation-01d-2.pdf

Chicago

Climate Action Against Disinformation. FLAME WARS Misinformation and Wildfire in Canadas Climate Conversation 2024. 2024. https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-Final-REPORT%E2%80%93Wildfire-Misinformation-01d-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Action Against Disinformation |title=FLAME WARS Misinformation and Wildfire in Canadas Climate Conversation 2024 |date=2024 |url=https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-Final-REPORT%E2%80%93Wildfire-Misinformation-01d-2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateactionagainstdisinformation2024flame, author = {{Climate Action Against Disinformation}}, title = {{FLAME WARS Misinformation and Wildfire in Canadas Climate Conversation 2024}}, institution = {Climate Action Against Disinformation}, year = {2024}, url = {https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-Final-REPORT%E2%80%93Wildfire-Misinformation-01d-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }