No, the CN Tower Isn’t on Fire — AI Hoax Sparks Panic
So, let’s clear this up right away: the CN Tower is not on fire. Nothing is burning on Toronto’s skyline. But over the past day, an AI-generated video made the rounds online, showing what looked like flames tearing through the tower’s main pod. The clip was convincing enough to cause a spike in Google searches, with people across Canada typing in phrases like “CN Tower fire today,” “did the CN Tower catch on fire,” and even “did the CN Tower burn.”
The video wasn’t real. It was produced by an account that has been posting similar so-called “disaster” videos of landmarks around the world. Just in the past week, that same account has claimed to show the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House, the Statue of Liberty, and even the Pyramids of Giza engulfed in flames. It’s part of a wave of AI-driven content that plays on shock value and spreads misinformation quickly.
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This isn’t the first time people have been misled into thinking the CN Tower was in danger. Back in 2015, during rehearsals for the Pan Am Games opening ceremony, a massive plume of smoke billowed from the observation deck. The smoke was actually from fireworks testing, but it looked so dramatic that people as far away as Scarborough thought a serious fire had broken out. Then in 2017, there was a real but small electrical fire at the very top of the tower’s antenna. Firefighters had to climb a hundred feet up ladders, carrying extinguishers, and one firefighter was left with minor injuries. So yes, the tower has had incidents in the past — but nothing like what this video tried to depict.
What’s striking about this recent scare is how quickly misinformation traveled. Within hours, social media was flooded with reactions. Some people immediately called it out, saying things like, “I live two blocks away from the CN Tower and it’s fine.” Others posted photos of the skyline proving everything was normal. But the video still racked up views, and the Google search data showed just how many people were fooled, at least for a moment.
This episode shows how AI is changing the way misinformation spreads. A decade ago, a blurry photo might have caused confusion. Now, high-quality, computer-generated videos can make almost anything seem real, even landmarks in flames that never burned. It’s a reminder to slow down before sharing and to look for credible sources.
At the end of the day, the CN Tower is still standing tall, unharmed, and very much fire-free. The flames you may have seen were never real — just another viral hoax in the age of AI.
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