Visuals showing the iconic Hollywood sign in California's Los Angeles on fire have gone viral on social media, where users have claimed that the sign, too, caught fire as the state continues to be ravaged by wildfires.
One such video was also shared by news organisation ET Now's Facebook page in a post, which was shared by over 1,000 users at the time of writing this report.
Another image, showing the sign engulfed in flames, was also shared with the same claim.
How did we find out the truth?: We ran a keyword search to look for details about whether the sign had caught fire, but did not come across any news reports or credible visuals confirming it.
Some reports, however, mentioned that there was a fire in Hollywood Hills, dubbed 'The Sunset' fire, which posed a threat the "beloved" LA landmarks.
This fire, however, spread to 42.8 acres of land and is fully contained as on 13 January, as per the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's website.
We looked for the sign's location on Google Maps, which is currently displaying signs for areas affected by the wildfires.
Here, we saw that the Hollywood sign was located away from all three major fires — the Palisades, the Hurst, and the Eaton fires — in the greater Los Angeles area.
We were able to confirm the same the state's fire department's website, which showed that the sign was safe from the Sunset fire as well.
A report by LA Times debunked some of the most viral misinformation surrounding the southern California wildfires, including this viral claim about the Hollywood sign on fire.
Conclusion: Fake visuals showing the Hollywood sign on fire are being shared as real visuals.
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