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Has the Hollywood sign burned down in Los Angeles wildfire? Details here
Many fabricated images shared on Meta's platforms falsely depicted the ‘Hollywood sign’ or surrounding areas in flames.
Several images are being circulated on social media claiming that the iconic Hollywood sign in Los Angeles was damaged by the ongoing wildfires. However, Reuters' fact-checking team has confirmed that these images are "fake," with the landmark remaining unharmed, according to eyewitness reports.
The wildfires surrounding Los Angeles reached Hollywood Hills on January 8, prompting the L.A. Fire Department to issue an evacuation order. By midday on January 9, the fire closest to the Hollywood sign, known as the Sunset Fire, was contained.
Jeff Zarrinnam, chair of the Hollywood Sign Trust, told Reuters on January 9 that the sign remained “secure” and unaffected by the flames. He also mentioned that Griffith Park, where the sign is located, had been temporarily closed as a safety measure.
Reuters photos taken on Thursday also showed the sign intact, with no signs of fire nearby. Meanwhile, fabricated images shared on Meta's platforms falsely depicted the sign or surrounding areas in flames.
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What did the social media posts say?
Facebook posts shared fake images of the Hollywood sign being burned, with captions like: "For all the evil within Hollywood, this is a sign from God he will not have it any longer!" and "The fire is reaching the Hollywood Sign. Please take care guys."
Some of these posts featured the logo of X’s AI chatbot, Grok, which can create images on demand. When Reuters prompted it, Grok generated similar images of the Hollywood sign burning that resembled the viral fake photos.
James O'Brien, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, emailed Reuters to explain that images bearing the Grok watermark are “labelled as being from Generative AI.” In the images without the watermark, he noted, unnatural lighting and inconsistent compression levels between the fire, background, andsign suggested that the fire had been digitally added using either image-editing software or AI.
For the Sunset Fire to reach the Hollywood sign, it would have had to spread at least two miles across the 101 Freeway, from its origin near Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame.
Los Angeles wildfires: At least 10 dead
At least 10 people have died and over 10,000 homes and structures have been destroyed by the two largest wildfires currently ravaging the Los Angeles area, authorities said. They urged more people to follow evacuation orders as a new fire rapidly grew.
The Kenneth Fire, which began late Thursday afternoon in the San Fernando Valley just two miles from a school serving as a shelter for evacuees from another fire, quickly spread into Ventura County. However, a swift and robust response from firefighters helped contain the flames and prevent further spread.
Around 400 firefighters remained on-site overnight to prevent the fire from reigniting.
Just hours before the Kenneth Fire erupted, officials had expressed hope as calmer winds and additional help from out-of-state crews helped contain the region's two major wildfires.
