Hindu festival vilified: Canadian social media user falsely blames Diwali for Ontario fire, his account contains several derogatory anti-Hindu posts
Milton, Ontario, Canada 
8 November, 2026
Case Summary
Anti-Hindu fake news was circulated on social media, falsely blaming Diwali celebrations for a massive fire that broke out at an abandoned building in Milton, Ontario, Canada. An X handle named Eric (@1px1j_) shared a video showing a building engulfed in flames, claiming that the fire had been caused by Diwali celebrations. The video was circulated with a narrative portraying the Hindu festival as responsible for a major fire in Canada. However, the claim was exposed as false following police statements and subsequent news reports. According to reports published by Canadian media outlets CBC and CHCH News on 9 November 2026, the fire had broken out on the evening of 8 November 2026 at an abandoned commercial building located at 700 Main Street East in Milton. The property had previously housed a Habitat for Humanity ReStore and a RONA store. Firefighters brought the blaze under control at approximately 1:25 am on 9 November 2026. Nobody was inside the building, and no serious injuries were reported. Residents of a nearby condominium were evacuated as a precaution while emergency services worked to contain the fire. On 9 November 2026, Halton Regional Police Service confirmed that three 14-year-old boys from the Milton area had been arrested and charged in connection with the incident. Each teenager faced one count of breaking and entering and one count of arson. Their identities were withheld under Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act. The police statement made no mention of Diwali celebrations or fireworks being responsible for the fire. Furthermore, Halton Regional Police Constable Jeff Dillon explicitly clarified that there was no information linking the blaze to Diwali fireworks. Responding to questions about the viral claims, he told The Canadian Press: “There was no information to suggest the fire was started as a result of Diwali fireworks celebrations.” The Canadian Press also published a fact-check on 9 November 2026, confirming that there was no evidence connecting the incident to Diwali celebrations. Thus, the viral claim attributing the fire to Diwali celebrations was entirely false. The fire occurred at an abandoned commercial property, and the police investigation resulted in three teenagers being charged with breaking and entering and arson. Despite police clarifying that there was no evidence linking the incident to Diwali or fireworks, the video was circulated on social media to falsely associate a Hindu festival with the fire. Notably, an inspection of Eric's X account by the Hinduphobia Tracker team revealed that this was not an isolated instance of anti-Hindu activity. His account contained several other posts targeting Diwali and denigrating Hinduism and the Hindu community. In one such post, captioned “Happy Diwali”, Eric shared a video of beef being cooked. This was posted to mock Hindus for revering cows as a sacred animal. In another instance, he targeted Liberal Party leader Ruby Dhalla over her Diwali message. Dhalla had shared an X post highlighting her journey from Diwali celebrations in Canada's Parliament to the boardroom as a chief executive officer and hotelier, and finally to the Oval Office in the West Wing. She had also thanked US President Donald Trump and the White House team for a memorable Diwali celebration. Responding to her post, Eric quote-posted her message and wrote: “Fucking Canadians celebrating stupid pagan festival in Oval now”.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to the tracker under the primary category: Hate Speech against Hindus. The subcategory selected is: Anti-Hindu subversion and prejudice. The tertiary category selected is: Anti-Hindu Fake News or Downplaying. Hate speech is defined as any speech, gesture, conduct, writing, or display that is prejudicial against a specific individual and/or group of people, which is leading to or may lead to violence, prejudicial action or hate against that individual and/or group. Media plays a specific and overarching reach in perpetuating prejudicial attitudes towards a community owing to unfair, untrue coverage and/or misrepresentation/misinterpretation, selective coverage and/or omission of facts of/pertaining to issues affecting a specific religious group. This type of bias can dehumanise the victim group, making it easier for others to justify harmful actions against them, which aligns with the objectives of hate speech laws aimed at preventing such harm. It is often observed that the media takes a prejudicial stand against the Hindu community driven by their need to shield the aggressor community which happens to be a numeric minority, however, is the one perpetrating violence against Hindus. For example, the media is often quick to contextualise religiously motivated crimes against Hindus, omit or misrepresent facts that point towards religiously motivated hate crimes, justify and/or downplay religiously motivated hate crimes or simply present fake news to stereotype Hindus. Such media bias leads to the denial of persecution and is often used to dehumanise Hindus, leading to justification for violence against them. For example, the media covered several fake allegations of Hindus targeting Muslims and forcing them to chant Jai Shree Ram. Most of these cases were proved false and fabricated after police investigation. These fake news reports were subsequently never retracted or clarified. Such fake news led to the justification of violence and dehumanisation of Hindus based on the argument that since Hindus targeted Muslims and forced them to chant Jai Shree Ram, the dehumanisation of Hindus and violence against them was par for the course and merely a retaliation. Such media bias leads to prejudicial portrayal of Hindus and offers a justification for violence against them and therefore, is considered hate speech under this category. The other subcategory selected is: Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. This case is a clear example of religiously driven hatred, as the perpetrator deliberately circulated anti-Hindu fake news by falsely blaming Diwali celebrations for a massive fire without any evidence. By attributing the fire to a Hindu religious festival, he spread misinformation that portrayed Diwali as responsible for a tragedy and fuelled anti-Hindu prejudice. Diwali is one of the most revered festivals in Hinduism, celebrated as a symbol of the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. The festival holds immense religious and spiritual significance for Hindus across the world, with different traditions commemorating the return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya, the worship of Goddess Lakshmi and other sacred occasions. Deliberately spreading false information to portray Diwali as a dangerous festival by associating it with fire-related accidents demonstrates an attempt to vilify a revered Hindu religious observance and malign the Hindu community. This was not an ordinary factual error or an inadvertent misrepresentation. The perpetrator presented an unsubstantiated accusation as fact, despite there being no evidence connecting the fire to Diwali. His actions demonstrate deliberate hostility towards Hindu traditions and an intent to denigrate a Hindu festival, its practitioners and their faith. This constitutes anti-Hindu hate speech and reflects deep-seated prejudice and animosity towards Hinduism and the Hindu community. Furthermore, an examination of the perpetrator's X account by the Hinduphobia Tracker team revealed several other posts targeting Hinduism, Diwali and the Hindu community. These posts demonstrate that his false attribution of the Ontario fire to Diwali was not an isolated instance or an innocent mistake, but formed part of a broader pattern of anti-Hindu hostility. In one such post, captioned “Happy Diwali”, he shared a video of beef being cooked, using the occasion of a Hindu religious festival to mock Hindus for their reverence for the cow. The cow holds profound religious and cultural significance in Hinduism and is revered as a sacred and nurturing mother figure, commonly addressed as Gau Mata. In Hindu religious tradition, the cow is associated with nourishment, generosity, motherhood and the sustenance of life. The Sanskrit term ‘Aghnya’, used in Vedic literature in reference to the cow, means that which should not be killed. Cow protection and the prohibition against cow slaughter hold deep religious significance for Hindus, who regard the killing of a cow as a grave religious transgression and a violation of their sacred beliefs. Despite being aware of the religious significance attached to the cow in Hinduism, the perpetrator deliberately shared a video of beef being cooked with the caption “Happy Diwali”. The juxtaposition of a Hindu festival greeting with imagery of beef being cooked displayed a mocking and derisive attitude towards Hindu religious sentiments. Using a sacred occasion to ridicule a religious community for its reverence towards an animal it considers holy demonstrates deliberate religious provocation and hostility towards Hindu beliefs. This was not merely an expression of disagreement with a religious practice; it was an act of derision directed at a deeply revered Hindu symbol, intended to mock and demean the religious sentiments of Hindus. In another post, the perpetrator denigrated Diwali by explicitly referring to it as a “stupid pagan festival”. Calling Diwali a “stupid festival” was a direct expression of contempt towards one of Hinduism's most sacred and widely celebrated religious observances. The derogatory language deliberately stripped the festival of its religious sanctity and portrayed its celebration as something contemptible and unworthy of respect. Such remarks denigrate the religious beliefs and cultural traditions of millions of Hindus and display open hostility towards their faith. Referring to Diwali as a “pagan festival” further exposes the religiously derogatory nature of his remarks. Historically, the term ‘pagan’ emerged in Christian usage as a designation for those who did not follow Christianity. It subsequently acquired pejorative connotations through its use in religious polemics to marginalise and denigrate non-Christian faiths, particularly polytheistic traditions. The term was frequently employed to distinguish Christianity from other religious traditions and, in hostile theological discourse, to portray non-Christian forms of worship as inferior, false or idolatrous. Its use became part of a wider historical pattern of religious othering, through which adherents of non-Christian faiths were stigmatised, and their religious practices disparaged. Applying this derogatory label to Diwali, a sacred Hindu festival, therefore reflects an attitude of religious superiority and contempt towards Hindu traditions. The perpetrator's description of Diwali as a “stupid pagan festival” was not a neutral religious classification; it was an explicitly insulting characterisation accompanied by profanity and directed at people celebrating their faith. Such language denigrates the sanctity of the festival, insults Hindu religious identity and demonstrates hostility towards Hinduism and its followers. His remarks reflect a prejudicial worldview in which Hindu religious observances are treated with contempt and subjected to religious denigration. This constitutes another clear instance of anti-Hindu hate speech and religiously motivated hostility. Overall, since the perpetrator's actions demonstrate hostility towards Hinduism and the Hindu community, it is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The date of the incident has been recorded as 9 November 2026, as this was the date on which Eric published the tweet falsely attributing the fire in Milton, Ontario, Canada, to Diwali celebrations.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
