Facebook removes misinformation related to Oregon wildfires

Another day, another slew of misinformation being shared on Facebook. But this time, the social media platform is removing several false claims before they spread to an even wider audience.

On Saturday, Facebook’s policy communications manager, Andy Stone, tweeted that the platform is removing misinformation related to the wildfires in Oregon, which have killed at least 10 people.

“We are removing false claims that the wildfires in Oregon were started by certain groups. This is based on 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,” Stone wrote.

Reuters reported that authorities and online fact-checkers like PolitiFact had been working to debunk several Facebook posts that claimed certain left-wing or right-wing groups started the Oregon wildfires.

In a PolitiFact post titled, “Antifa activists did not start the West Coast wildfires,” staff writer Daniel Funke highlighted and debunked several of the harmful, untrue posts that received thousands of shares on Facebook. Funke also noted that on Sept. 9, the Medford Police Department in Medford, Ore., addressed posts that claimed antifa — a left-wing anti-fascist group — or the “Proud Boys” — a right-wing neo-fascist group — were responsible for the deadly fires.

“We did not arrest this person for arson, nor anyone affiliated with Antifa or ‘Proud Boys’ as we’ve heard throughout the day. Also, no confirmed gatherings of Antifa, which has also been reported,” the Medford Police wrote.

Funke and others have claimed that amidst a particularly harsh wildfire season, environmental factors including drought and record-breaking temperatures caused the deadly fires. In at least one confirmed incident, a wildfire that spanned more than 13,000 acres started with a smoke device at a gender-reveal party.

As for Facebook’s decision to remove the inaccurate wildfire claims, Stone said, “This is consistent with our past efforts to remove content that could lead to imminent harm given the possible risk to human life as the fires rage on.”

Though several of these posts are being dealt with, misinformation on Facebook is certainly nothing new. The platform has recently featured terribly murky coronavirus updates and anti-mask propaganda, and as the 2020 election nears, Facebook is considering the impact it can have.

While the platform announced it won’t accept any new political ads in the week before the election, ads that were already live will still be allowed to run and CEO Mark Zuckerberg still believes that “the best antidote to bad speech is more speech,” so ads with lies are still technically allowed.

Until Facebook gets its act together and finds a more successful way to limit misinformation, you should simply rely on more trusted sources for your news.