Social media claims of an arson epidemic and obstructive environmentalists have infected mainstream reporting of the bushfire crisisLies have spread faster than grassfire during Australia’s unprecedented national emergency. One conspiracy bizarrely claims bushfires have been lit to clear a path for high-speed rail down Australia’s east coast. Australia is built on lies, so why would we be surprised about lies about climate change? Esteemed climate change expert professor Will Steffen, a member of Australia’s Climate Council and the inaugural director of Australian National University’s Climate Change Institute, is concerned at how disinformation has spread with such ease. Suggestions of an arson epidemic began to ferment on social media at the height of the crisis around New Year’s Day.

Source: The Guardian January 11, 2020 18:56 UTC