Ismail Shakil
ReutersSun, 13 Sep 2020 03:19 UTC
© REUTERS/Adrees LatifVehicles lie damaged in the aftermath of the Obenchain Fire in Eagle Point, Oregon, U.S., September 11, 2020.
Facebook has started removing false claims that the deadly wildfires in Oregon were started by various left-wing and right-wing groups, a spokesman for the social media company said on Saturday, after the rumors left state officials inundated with queries for information.
Since early this week, state officials have been attempting to debunk misinformation on social media that has blamed both left-wing and right-wing groups for the fires that have killed at least six people in Oregon this week.Facebook, which earlier was attaching warning labels to such posts, decided to move to the stricter approach after "confirmation from law enforcement that these rumors are forcing local fire and police agencies to divert resources from fighting the fires and protecting the public," the spokesman, Andy Stone, said in a statement on Twitter.
Stone called the decision "consistent with (Facebook's) past efforts to remove content that could lead to imminent harm given the possible risk to human life as the fires rage on."Flames have destroyed thousands homes in days, making Oregon the latest epicenter in a larger summer outbreak of fires sweeping the western United States.
One of Facebook's third-party fact-checking partners, PolitiFact, wrote on Thursday on its website that dozens of posts blaming antifa - a largely unstructured, far-left movement - for the wildfires had been flagged by Facebook's systems, and that collectively the posts had been shared thousands of times.The FBI on Friday said in a statement that after investigating several reports that extremists were responsible for setting wildfires in Oregon, it found them to be untrue.Earlier this week, police in Medford, Oregon, debunked a false post using the police department's logo and name suggesting that five members of the Proud Boys, a men-only, far-right group, had been arrested for arson.
Comment: Is it really untrue?
From RT:
However, reports of arson have not come solely from anonymous Twitter accounts and conspiracy cranks. Hours after the FBI's tweet was posted, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office announced that deputies had discovered spent fireworks next to a bush fire in Corbett, a few minutes' drive from Portland.
Multiple suspects have been arrested and charged with arson within the city itself, with the arrestees usually linked to the ongoing protests and riots. Previously, Molotov cocktails have been thrown at police officers, buildings set on fire, and powerful fireworks launched at federal agents protecting the city's Justice Center and courthouse.
However, law enforcement officers have caught several arsonists outside Portland too. A man was charged on Friday with multiple counts of arson after allegedly setting a wildfire near Phoenix in southern Oregon on Tuesday. Officers arresting the man found him standing near a large blaze that was threatening several houses, and discovered two ounces of methamphetamine on his person. His political leanings are unknown.
In central Oregon, a 44-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of arson, with deputies accusing him of torching nearly 400 acres of land west of the city of Eugene.
While law enforcement officials say they've been flooded with false calls blaming the fires on Antifa arsonists, a fire that began in Ashland is under criminal investigation after human remains were found at its origin point. The fire quickly spread, and merged with the same blaze that the alleged Phoenix arsonist was arrested and charged for starting.
Further north in Washington state, a man was charged on Friday with starting a fire alongside a rural highway two days earlier. The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Jeffrey Acord, live-streamed his arrest on Facebook, but denied starting the fire. Acord had professed support for Black Lives Matter on Facebook, and had previously been arrested with a cache of weapons at a protest in Seattle in 2014.
It is not known, however, if his alleged fire-starting on Wednesday was politically motivated.
And more from Gateway Pundit:
Oregon Fisherman Shares Video of Suspected Arsonists in Black Hoodies, Black Pants and with Gas Cans
By Jim Hoft
Published September 12, 2020 at 9:40am
Oregon and Washington State police continue to arrest alleged arsonists as fires continue to burn on the West Coast.
At least two arsonists including a transient were arrested in Oregon late this week.
A woman in Oregon posted video a local man took of alleged arsonists wearing black clothing setting a fire near Elk Rock.
The video shows a man in a black hoodie, black pants and a gas can.
...
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Comment: Is it really untrue? From RT: And more from Gateway Pundit: See also: