Extremists spreading lies about west coast fires

[Lemons]

Social media has brought out some of the worst in people. The most dangerous wild fires in history are uncontrolled all over the west coast and so far 15 people have died in them and billions in damage. So some, for political reasons, thought it was a good idea to spread misinformation about "antifa" looting and setting fire to houses.

Because of the wild fires Portland Police Tweeted

“Since fire danger is very high right now due to high winds and the current dry climate, fire will spread quickly and could affect many lives. We ask you to demonstrate peacefully and without the use of fire.”

Conspiracy nuts like QAnon took this as proof that antifa groups were responsible for all the wildfires. Some social media users also blamed Proud Boys for setting some of the fires.

The rumors and misinformation got worse when Paul J. Romero, a former Republican candidate for Senate, tweeted about unconfirmed reports of arson: “Oregon is on fire! Pallet Company in Oregon City confirmed Antifa arsonist on camera. Douglas County Sheriff has 6 ANTIFA arsonists in custody.”

The Douglas County Sheriff's office had to follow up on Romero's misinformation:

"Rumors spread just like wildfire," the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said Thursday morning, "and now our 9-1-1 dispatchers and professional staff are being overrun with requests for information and inquiries on an UNTRUE rumor that 6 Antifa members have been arrested for setting fires in DOUGLAS COUNTY, OREGON."

When the Police Department in Molalla, south of Portland, asked residents to report suspicious activity, they had to add a second message because so many people took that as evidence of deliberately set fires.

“This is about possible looters, not antifa or setting of fires,” the department wrote. “There has been NO antifa in town as of this posting at 02:00 a.m. Please, folks, stay calm and use common sense.”

There has been zero evidence of any group from the left or right involved in any intentionally setting of wild fires but because of so much misinformation there are people risking their lives by not evacuating out of fear of their property. Proof that spreading lies can kill.


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/10/us/a ... fires.html

[Pjmm]

Honestly these types should have to watch their houses burn. It's disrespectful to anyone who's seen their house burn or see someone die. And I hope they will have to answer to someone if not God about breaking that commandant about bearing false witness.

[Mommamia]

Oh my. Why hasn't FACEBOOK, Twitter, etc. pulled those comments? They are, after all, both lies and misleading. I mean they are the arbiters of what's honest and what isn't honest. They are always censoring Republicans and other right wing accounts. Why aren't they doing their 'jobs' of stopping the spread of these lies? (sarcasm....................)

[SummerDream]

I saw something on this on YouTube. I didn’t believe it because I’ve seen news stories about the fires and in most cases the cause was already known.

[WellPreserved]

These wildfires just hurt my heart - incredibly. The fact that some people are staying in their homes in order to protect them from "Antifa" is just mind boggling to me and so sad. They are going to die because of a hoax.

[29again]

I'm not gonna pretend that I know the political ideologies of these people, but it is a fact that numerous people have been arrested for starting fires deliberately. One man was livestreaming and happened to capture his own arrest for arson.

You all can pretend that Antifa doesn't exist, isn't a threat, is not violent, is only a myth all you want. Reality says differently.

[Lemons]

I'm not gonna pretend that I know the political ideologies of these people, but it is a fact that numerous people have been arrested for starting fires deliberately. One man was livestreaming and happened to capture his own arrest for arson.

You all can pretend that Antifa doesn't exist, isn't a threat, is not violent, is only a myth all you want. Reality says differently.

Here we go. Wtf? Did someone say there weren’t antifacist groups out there?

If you bothered to read actual articles in actual newspapers you would know that they reported on the one man who was arrested for starting a fire. And there was another homeless man who started a small fire. What does that have to do with people lying about antifa or Proud boy starting fires?

Law enforcement agencies and police forces in Oregon and Washington have said that these people spreading these lies are wasting valuable resources and are dangerou.

Are you such an extremist that you can’t even believe an account based on multiple sources of law enforcement agencies when they state that people are spreading untrue rumors that are potentially endangering ?

[Pjmm]

I'm not gonna pretend that I know the political ideologies of these people, but it is a fact that numerous people have been arrested for starting fires deliberately. One man was livestreaming and happened to capture his own arrest for arson.

You all can pretend that Antifa doesn't exist, isn't a threat, is not violent, is only a myth all you want. Reality says differently.

Antifa exists. But are they responsible for these fires? Not unless they're doing it under the guise of a gender reveal party. Nope it appears the fires have been started by simple human stupidity. And sure there are arsonists. But I'd think if it was terrorists they'd be more likely to burn downtown Chicago. Just a thought.

[29again]

I'm not gonna pretend that I know the political ideologies of these people, but it is a fact that numerous people have been arrested for starting fires deliberately. One man was livestreaming and happened to capture his own arrest for arson.

You all can pretend that Antifa doesn't exist, isn't a threat, is not violent, is only a myth all you want. Reality says differently.

Here we go. Wtf? Did someone say there weren’t antifacist groups out there?

If you bothered to read actual articles in actual newspapers you would know that they reported on the one man who was arrested for starting a fire. And there was another homeless man who started a small fire. What does that have to do with people lying about antifa or Proud boy starting fires?

Law enforcement agencies and police forces in Oregon and Washington have said that these people spreading these lies are wasting valuable resources and are dangerou.

Are you such an extremist that you can’t even believe an account based on multiple sources of law enforcement agencies when they state that people are spreading untrue rumors that are potentially endangering ?

While I do hold right-wing views, I would not classify myself as an extremist. I do read various news articles on a variety of topics and from a multitude of sources, both left and right. Often, the truth is actually somewhere in between. As hard as it is to believe, there are some people who don't believe that antifa is anything to worry about whatsoever, that the violence attributed to them is a myth.

What I am looking at is the fact that Antifa has started fires in downtown Portland. That is a fact. They barricaded police precincts and tried to set the buildings on fire, with people inside. I believe this tactic has been used in other localities as well. So, excuse the f**k out of me and every other thinking person who does not see it as a stretch to think that it could be possible that some Antifa got bored/angry/too high on whatever drug they were using that day/enraged/whatever emotion and decided to start a fire along the highway on their way to the city to riot.... Oh, and please note where I said that I do not know the political ideologies of the people who started the fires, but yeah.. PEOPLE started the fires in OR and WA as well as some in CA. (Maybe proper forest management would alleviate the fire risk each year??? Just a thought...) I really don't think it matters too much if it is antifa or someone else who started the fires. The fact remains that there were fires intentionally lit for no other reason than to cause chaos. (which is a favorite of antifa, if I may say so...) Is the rationale that while antifa might be unruly, they don't do arson? What, what is the rationale behind vehemently denying this group is involved? I don't get it.

[29again]

I'm not gonna pretend that I know the political ideologies of these people, but it is a fact that numerous people have been arrested for starting fires deliberately. One man was livestreaming and happened to capture his own arrest for arson.

You all can pretend that Antifa doesn't exist, isn't a threat, is not violent, is only a myth all you want. Reality says differently.

Antifa exists. But are they responsible for these fires? Not unless they're doing it under the guise of a gender reveal party. Nope it appears the fires have been started by simple human stupidity. And sure there are arsonists. But I'd think if it was terrorists they'd be more likely to burn downtown Chicago. Just a thought.

Didn't they try that, though? Back in the early summer?