Claim:
Climate change rioters set Disney World’s Cinderella Castle on fire.
Rating:
Labeled Satire ( About this rating? )
On Aug. 17, 2024, Mouse Trap News published an article claiming that rioters had set fire to Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom, part of Florida's Disney World theme park.
The article ( archived ) said the alleged fire was started by climate change activists, and that firefighters were ultimately able to save the iconic building:
BREAKING: Rioters Set Cinderella Castle on Fire
Breaking news, rioters set Cinderella Castle on fire yesterday. They set it on fire in the afternoon and sent smoke pouring throughout the Magic Kingdom.
It took firefighters a few hours to respond because they were being blocked by the rioters. The firefighters battled it throughout the night as guests and onlookers watched as the tragedy unfolded.
Luckily, this time they were able to prevent it from burning down completely. However, many people are wondering why rioters set the castle on fire in the first place. According to police reports, they were protesting climate change.
The claim was also posted on the Mouse Trap News TikTok account ( archived ), where, as of this writing, it had received around 1.5 million views and 68,000 likes.
Many of the comments on the TikTok video expressed skepticism toward the claim. One commenter wrote, "heard about this once before and not going to believe it anymore." Another said, "I'm not falling for this again bro."
As those commenters noted, Mouse Trap News made a similar claim in February 2024, which Snopes investigated at the time. In that story, Mouse Trap News claimed Cinderella Castle had burned to the ground.
The TikTok video that accompanied that story was nearly identical to the one from August 2024, and used the same footage pulled from videos posted by other TikTok users, which showed the Magic Kingdom on a foggy day and smoke left behind by fireworks set off in front of Cinderella Castle.
As was the case with the February 2024 claim, Mouse Trap News' assertion that climate change activists attempted to burn down Cinderella Castle in August 2024 was not a factual recounting of real-life events. There was no credible evidence of such a fire taking place. Instead, the only coverage of the claim consisted of debunkings of it.
The rumor about a fire at Cinderella Castle originated with Mouse Trap News, a website that describes its output as being satirical in nature. Its about page states:
Mouse Trap News is the world's best satire and parody site. We write fake stories about Disney Parks stuff. From Disney Park announcements to Disney Hotel and resort news to made-up Disney partnerships, you can be assured that anything you read here is not true, real, or accurate, but it is fun. So technically our slogan The Moused Trusted Name in Disney News isn't true, but we thought it was creative and funny, so we are running with it.
Mouse Trap News was created on a whim to have some fun and write stories about Disney we wish were true. Some Disney sites write deceptive stories for clicks. We write 100% made-up parody and satire stories for your enjoyment. We also hope that Disney sees how much people like some of our stories and decide to actually make one of our stories a reality!
The @mousetrapnews TikTok account, which is affiliated with the website, likewise describes itself in its bio as "100% FAKE‼️"
Mouse Trap News has a history of making up stories about Disney properties for shares and comments. In addition to the site's previous false claim about a fire at Cinderella Castle, Snopes has also addressed allegations that Disney replaced Mickey Mouse as its mascot and that the company had banned farting in its theme parks .
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
Sources:
About. 22 Dec. 2022, https://mousetrapnews.com/about/ .
BREAKING: Rioters Set Cinderella Castle on Fire. 17 Aug. 2024, https://mousetrapnews.com/breaking-rioters-set-cinderella-castle-on-fire/ .
"Disney's Cinderella Castle Set On Fire? | Here's the Truth Behind The Viral Reports." Outlook US, 18 Aug. 2024, https://www.outlookindia.com/international/us/disneys-cinderella-castle-set-on-fire-heres-the-truth-behind-the-viral-reports .
Izzo, Jack. "Did Disney World's Cinderella Castle Burn Down?" Snopes, 26 Feb. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/disney-world-castle-fire/ .
LaMagdeleine, Izz Scott. "Mickey Mouse Replaced as Disney's Mascot?" Snopes, 14 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/disney-mickey-mouse-mascot/ .
Lee, Jessica. "Why Snopes Covers Satire and Parody." Snopes, 26 July 2024, https://www.snopes.com//notes/snopes-satire-parody/ .
Wrona, Aleksandra. "Disney World Banned Flatulence in Parks?" Snopes, 22 July 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/disney-world-bans-farting/.
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