InfoWars

InfoWars, the website infamous for spreading conspiracy theories, was among the first to baselessly claim the fire was set deliberately. The cause of the fire is currently unknown, though the cathedral was recently undergoing extensive renovations. InfoWars provided no evidence for its story, except for a since-deleted tweet from Chris Hale saying he knew a Notre Dame employee.

Hale told BuzzFeed News that the tweet was only up for about 10 minutes before he removed it, saying "I never should have tweeted it."

"For the record I completely believe it was an accident," Hale said. "The jesuit who texted me — my friend — believes it was an accident. Conspiracy theorists who are going to run with this have zero evidence."