By: Sam Doak
August 17 2023
The publication of a book does not prove that the Maui wildfires were planned in advance
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
This book appears to have been written using AI, and it contains no information not publicly available at the time of publication.
Claim ID 25863bf3
Context
On August 8, 2023, wildfires began affecting parts of Maui, an island in the U.S. state of Hawaii (spelled Hawai'i by locals). In the days that followed, the fires spread rapidly, causing the deaths of at least 110 people and billions of dollars worth of property damage. As of August 17, authorities have stated that 1,300 people remain missing in the wake of this disaster.
The wildfires in Maui have attracted widespread international attention, partly because they are the most deadly to affect the U.S. in over a century. As a result, numerous false and misleading claims are circulating online concerning the disaster and its causes.
A common theme in mis/disinformation concerning the fires in Maui is the unfounded idea that they were intentionally caused. In an attempt to prove this, some social media users have focussed on a book entitled, "Fire and Fury: The Story of the 2023 Maui Fire and its Implications for Climate Change." For some, the timing of this book's publication indicates that some people had advance warning of the wildfires.
One social media user, posting on Facebook, argued, "If this isn't proof enough that these fires were caused by direct laser blasts and not climate change rubbish like the fake mainstream narrative the sleepy sheeple are being fed, then I don't know what else will open ones sticky eyes. And look! A book written and published whilst the fires are still being ignited demanding climate change emergency actions."
Despite the timing of this book's publication raising eyebrows in some corners of the internet, Logically Facts has determined that it does not indicate this disaster was planned.
In fact
The book was released for sale on August 10, 2023, two days after the fires started.
While the book itself is not available for free, fact-checking outlet Snopes purchased a copy. According to its analysis, the book contained no information not publicly available at the time of publication, and its text showed numerous signs that it was likely AI-generated. On this, Snopes states, "We purchased the online version of the book on Amazon and assessed whether it included information that could only be obtained during or after the fires, and that was the case. Furthermore, the text had several characteristics often indicative of content produced by artificial intelligence (AI) software."
Snopes states that repeated words within the text and flagging by AI-detection software indicate that the book was likely authored using artificial intelligence-powered tools.
Logically Facts examined books available for purchase on Amazon published by the same listed author, Dr. Miles Stone. In total, 16 books concerning a wide range of subjects were purportedly published by Stone in 2023, a highly unlikely feat for an author not using AI-powered text generation.
It should be noted that "Dr. Miles Stone" appears to be a pseudonym. Logically Facts could find no record of an author by this name except on Amazon and Goodreads. The name itself is likely a play on the word "milestone."
The verdict
This book was likely written using AI tools, which would explain why it was released so quickly after the start of the wildfires. According to reports, it contains no information not publicly available at the time of its publication. As such, it is not proof the author had prior knowledge of the disaster. This claim has therefore been marked as false.
