The announcement came after multiple organisations, including the Douglas County Sheriffs Office in Oregon, issued warnings on social media about the false rumours being spread about wildfires
The skeletal silouhette of burnt trees are seen after a wildfire swept through an R.V. park destroying multiple homes in Estacada, Oregon in United States. Pic.AFP
Facebook on Sunday said it has started to pull down fake posts and misinformation claiming that wildfires in the Oregon state in the US were caused by arson from militia organisations like Antifa and far-left activists.
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The announcement came after multiple organisations, including the Douglas County Sheriff's Office in Oregon, issued warnings on social media about the false rumours being spread about wildfires.
#Facebook (@Facebook) on Sunday said it has started to pull down fake posts and misinformation claiming that wildfires in the #Oregon state in the #US were caused by arson from militia organisations like Antifa and far-left activists. pic.twitter.com/fIkz55jZVy
— IANS Tweets (@ians_india) September 13, 2020
"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 rumours are forcing local fire and police agencies to divert resources from fighting the fires and protecting the public," Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone said in a tweet.
"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," he added.
There is no evidence Oregon's fires were caused by arson from far-left activists, reports NBC News.
Authorities arrested one person in connection with one of Oregon's 38 active wildfires, which have caused at least eight deaths.
Oregon's fires have charred more than 879,000 acres, according to state data.
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