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While Maui is reeling under the destructive impact of wildfires, a conspiracy theory concerning the Mountain Dew drink has gone viral online. Internet users recently came across Mountain Dew's Maui burst flavor drink and began claiming that Mountain Dew predicted the widfires.
Other than this, conspiracy theorists are also insisting that the wildfire may have been caused by "direct energy weapons," also known as DEW. A social media user @jimwest reacted to the conspiracy theory garnering massive attention online and noted that there are "no such thing as coincidences." The user also shared pictures of the Maui burst flavor drink on X (formerly known as Twitter).
It is worth noting that the Maui Burst flavor of Mountain Dew was lanuched in October 2019, and at that time, it was launched for a limited time period. However, it eventually became a permanent flavor, available in dollar stores and priced at $1 for a 16oz can.
Meanwhile, the soft drink brand has not commented on the viral conspiracy theory that has connected it to the wildfires in Hawaii.
Netizens are linking Mountain Dew to Direct Energy Weapon
Internet users are linking the Maui fires to Mountain Dew, claiming that they don't believe that the fire might have been caused by heat and dry landscape. Social media users are insisting that the fires might've been caused by the direct energy weapon instead.
For those unaware, a direct energy weapon is a device that emits focused energy, such as lasers or microwaves, for various applications including military and industrial purposes. Check out how netizens are perpetuating and responding to this claim:
Was Direct Energy Weapon behind 2023 Maui wildfire? Here's what you need to know about the viral claim
According to fact check website Snopes, the Maui widlfire has no relation with the direct energy weapon as official authorities have said that the fire was caused by extreme weather conditions.
Social media users also shared pictures of wildfire where a lightening struck the forest. However, Snopes stated that while it might seem that this photo was captured recently in Maui, depicting the "direct energy weapon" in operation in 2023, in reality, it has been circulating online since at least January 2018.
Contrary to the notion of lasers or wildfires, the image actually originates from an event that took place at an Ohio oil refinery during that January. Snopes, in 2018, clarified that this photograph is part of a collection documenting a controlled burn at the refinery. The striking "beam of light" visible in the images is a cold-weather optical phenomenon referred to as a "light pillar."
