Is Tiktok's 'Hot Star' Addressing Conspiracy Theories About Wildfires in the US?

In the wake of on-going wildfires sweeping through the US west coast for weeks now, conspiracy theories are thriving just as much in an attempt to find explanations for this unfortunate phenomenon, that is getting worse each year. Lately, a firefighter from Hawaii has taken to the popular video-sharing app to spread awareness on the matter and debunk baseless claims.

While many experts have associated the wildfires, that have been rocking California and Oregon for almost a month, with Climate Change, many other theories have claimed that the unstoppable blaze is man-made.

Standing up against such claims is 27-years old Michael Clark who has joined the fire department about three years ago, and all he is doing is debunking claims in less-than-a-minute videos on TikTok, in an attempt to curb misinformation that has mobilized people against journalists and experts commenting on the situation.

According to some voices promoting conspiracy theories, the forest fires started when "left-wing Antifa activists set the area on fire." Others argued that the US government is the one that has lit forests in western states on fire, while others thought that powerful laser rays have ignited the environmental tragedy. 

Videos posted by Clark received millions of views on TikTok before users started posting them on Twitter and other social media platforms, helping his effort to send the message across the widest audience online. Many users described him as the "hot firefighter" who is spreading awareness on the matter.

Using his social media channels, Clark also called on people to support the Wildland Firefighter Foundation with donations as it takes part in the fight against the continuous wildfire.