Social media was flooded with conspiracy theories after an explosion at the U.S.-Canada border involving a car near Niagara Falls on Wednesday. Two people are dead and the cause is still under investigation, but reports have gone viral claiming the explosion was caused by terrorists who were trying to target the upcoming Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. But there’s simply no evidence that’s true.
“The FBI is suspecting that the Car Bomb Explosion TERRORIST ATTACK at the Rainbow Bridge US-Canada border in Niagara Falls could have been heading directly to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NEW YORK CITY,” far-right influencer Laura Loomer tweeted on Wednesday.
“FBI and NYPD on extreme high alert and advising no travel to NEW YORK City. THEY ARE ALSO NOW LOOKING FOR A SECOND VEHICLE! STAY OUT OF NEW YORK CITY! AMERICA IS UNDER ATTACK BY ISLAMISTS AGAIN!” Loomer continued.
The problem with this completely unfounded theory is that the vehicle was actually on the U.S. side and trying to travel into Canada. Any hypothetical terrorists who wanted to target an event in the U.S., like a parade in New York, would not be moving into Canada.
Loomer was previously banned from Twitter, now known as X, before being reinstated after Elon Musk bought the company in late 2022. Loomer is best known as an anti-Muslim bigot but there are rumors swirling she could be considered for a role in former president Donald Trump’s administration if he wins the election in 2024.
Even Fox News, which was the first news outlet to claim the explosion was related to terrorism—a claim that has yet to be substantiated by other mainstream outlets—concedes the vehicle was already on the U.S. side and trying to get into Canada.
“The vehicle was driving from the U.S. to Canada and were attempting to drive toward the border officer building, the sources said,” Fox News reported on Wednesday afternoon.
By 4:00 p.m. ET, Fox News was also walking back the claim that the explosion was a result of terrorism. A reporter at Fox blamed “conflicting reports” on a breaking news situation.
An eyewitness who spoke with local news station WGRZ-TV said he saw the entire thing at the Rainbow Bridge crossing between the U.S. and Canada and confirmed the car that exploded was on the U.S. side.
“Yes, it was going from the U.S. towards Canada,” the witness explained.
Loomer’s account on X has a “verified” blue checkmark, a program that was gutted by Musk, who now lets anyone with $8 per month buy “verification.” And while X no longer verifies anyone’s identity, the blue checkmark does give subscribers a boost by the X algorithm, something that helps false information spread more quickly than ever on the platform.
Other “verified” accounts on the program spread sensationalistic claims on X after the explosion on Wednesday, including a man named Robert Spencer who insisted an Iranian passport had been found near the vehicle. There’s no evidence that’s the case, though Spencer’s tweet has received over 250,000 views at the time of this writing.
Another verified account called Mats Nilsson claimed a Yemeni passport was found near the vehicle, yet another claim with no basis in publicly available facts. Again, by paying X for a checkmark these accounts get boosted to receive more visibility on the site.
The Thanksgiving parade is held annually in New York City and there are widespread reports the city is on high alert over concerns that tensions in the Middle East could cause increased conflict in other parts of the world. The start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7 placed the U.S. on heightened alert in the lead up to the holiday season and has also led to a huge influx of misinformation and disinformation on social media.
The story of the exploding car near Niagara Falls is still unfolding and nobody knows for certain why this vehicle seemed to act erratically. Some news outlets have reported the car accelerated to somewhere between 80-100 miles per hour before hitting a curb and exploding. But we know for certain this event had nothing to do with people from Canada trying to get into the U.S. In fact, it was exactly the opposite.
All border crossings between Canada and western New York have been closed as a precaution as the investigation continues. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are working to determine the cause of the explosion.
Update, 4:37 p.m. ET: Even after every respectable news outlet started to report that the cause of the explosion simply couldn’t be determined, Loomer doubled down on X with unfounded claims.
“JUST IN: Following the Islamic terrorist attacking at the US-Canada border today, The Buffalo international airport has closed all arriving and departing international flights. They are concerned this isn’t a ‘one off’. Police are also still looking for the second vehicle that got away. It could also possibly be filled with explosives,” Loomer tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
In fact, the New York Times is now reporting, “No explosive devices were immediately found in the wreckage, said one of the American law enforcement officials.”
I’ve reached out to Loomer and will update this post if I hear back.
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