A recent wildfire engulfed a large part of Los Angeles, California, this week. Amidst the chaos, a widespread claim emerged that the iconic Hollywood sign was on fire, shocking social media users worldwide. However, our investigation revealed that this claim was false.
SOCIAL MEDIA CLAIM
Images of the iconic Hollywood sign shrouded in flames have rapidly spread across social media after a devastating wildfire ravaged numerous homes and neighborhoods in Los Angeles yesterday.
Social media users widely shared the claim that the landmark sign was on fire during the recent Los Angeles wildfires.
Below is the screenshot of the social media post on January 8, 2025, stating “Breaking News: LA’s iconic Hollywood Boulevard evacuated amid dangerous wildfire in celebrity hotspot.”
One Facebook post expressed shock upon seeing images of the Hollywood sign engulfed in flames circulating on social media.
Check out this Facebook post expressing shock: “Oh my Hollywood! The Hollywood sign just turned 101 years old on December 8, 2024.”
A Facebook user in Cambodia shared images of the Hollywood sign engulfed in flames, claiming that Los Angeles’ iconic landmark was on fire.
Below is a screenshot of a Facebook post in Khmer, stating that “the well-known film industry hotspot Hollywood in the United States was on fire as the wildfires almost reduced Los Angeles to ashes.”
The images of the Hollywood sign engulfed by fire have been circulated on other social media platforms like Instagram, Threads, and X as well. Then, they have garnered significant reactions from users.
Below is the screenshot of the claim circulated on Instagram by a social media user stating “The Hollywood sign is on fire.”
As the claim is going viral on social media platforms, similar claims and posts can be seen via various links: Link 1 (archived), Link 2 (archived), Link 3 (archived), and Link 4 (archived).
FACT CHECK
Fact Crescendo began debunking the claim by running a Google Reverse Image Search which led us to the following facts.
By conducting the reverse image search, we found many facts to indicate the claim was false.
A post on X (formerly called Twitter) stated that the claim that the Hollywood sign was on fire was fake, adding the current fire is 2.3 miles away from the landmark sign.
Below is the screenshot of the X tweet stating that the iconic Hollywood sign is secure from being on wildfire.
As the claim went viral on social media and shocked the world, we found out the images have been debunked by media outlets and fact-checking networks around the globe.
After checking and verifying, it was found that the images were generated by artificial intelligence. These images were circulated on social media by a user named Grok, whose watermark is visible on the images.
By searching with the keyword “Hollywood sign,” we found numerous news reports debunking the claim that the iconic sign was on fire. The images were not representative of the actual events on the ground.
Below is a screenshot of the top stories that appeared on Google Search after searching with the keyword ‘Hollywood sign’ on January 9, 2025.
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CONCLUSION
Fact Crescendo found the claim described above is false. The iconic Hollywood sign is safe from the recent wildfire engulfing Los Angeles city. The images of the Hollywood sign on flames were not representative of the actual events on the ground. They were generated by artificial intelligence.
