BEWARE: Trolls, Bots Spread Disinfo. Re AU 'Arson' Bushfires, 'Hard Left Activists'

[appalachiablue]

~~~ BOTS and trolls spread false arson claims in twisted "disinformation campaign"~~~~

1. 'Australia's Wildfires Spark Disinformation Battle As They Take A Tragic Toll,' NPR, Jan. 10, 2020.

Australia is struggling to cope with deadly infernos and faces losing nearly a billion animals in the terrible bushfires — but in the midst of those tragedies, authorities are also battling hoaxes and misinformation, including false reports of widespread arson. Many of the claims seek to suggest that arson, not climate change, was a key driver of the historic fires.
The hashtag #ArsonEmergency began trending shortly after the new year. Queensland University of Technology researcher Timothy Graham says he identified troll and bot social media accounts that tried to shift the narrative about the fires as being the work of dozens of criminals...https://www.npr.org/2020/01/10/795218092/australias-wildfires-spark-disinformation-battle-as-they-take-a-tragic-toll

2. FANNING THE FLAMES Australia wildfires – Trolls spreading fake news that deadly fires are being started by ‘hard left’ climate activists. The Sun, Jan. 8, 2020.

BOTS and trolls have been spreading false arson claims in a twisted "disinformation campaign" throughout Australia.

The fake news posts are telling people that climate activists are setting fires as Australians die in the inferno...

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10699725/australia-wildfires-troll-bots-fake-news-massive-deadly-fires-are-being-started-by-hard-left-climate-activists/