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[Iscah]

This sounds familiar.

Part of an article at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-...media/11846434 (ABC being our public broadcaster):

Fires misinformation being spread through social media

One area of misinformation has been the hashtag #ArsonEmergency on Twitter.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researcher Dr Timothy Graham analysed 315 accounts posting #ArsonEmergency and said a third of them displayed highly-automated and inauthentic behaviour.

He said the topic appeared to be attracting a "suspiciously high number of bot-like and troll-like accounts".

The ABC found many of the suspicious accounts were amplifying unproven suggestions arson had been the overwhelming cause of Australia's disastrous bushfire season.

Several Twitter users were misrepresenting a media report about police investigating whether some of the fires were deliberately lit, despite the same report noting the blazes on the NSW South Coast were likely caused by lightning strikes.

Some incorrectly quoted Australian police as having dismissed the link between the fires and climate change.

An article posted by an American far-right figure went one step further, claiming left-wing ecoterrorists were responsible for lighting the blazes.

The "nearly 200 people arrested" claim is also shown as an example of social media misinformation.

Links shared on social media are NOT a reliable news source.