Fox News dishonesty (imho) about Bushfires in Australia

[MajorMitchell]

Climate change deniers are dishonestly misrepresenting the causes of Australia's worst ever bushfire disasters by peddling the lie that these bushfires were caused overwhelmingly by arsonists. Arson is linked to less than 1% of the numerous bushfires that have occurred since July 2019. The greatest single cause of Australia's bushfires has been dry lightning strikes.

[orathaic]

Even if a fire is started on purpose, it doesn't spread across the entire country unless it is dry. The Amazon burning late last year was probably mostly capitalist driven for turning the rain forest into farmland; but the uncontrolled fires spread due to climate.

Fox News lying doesn't overly surprise me.

[MajorMitchell]

Sean Haggerty(?) another cork brained clown is reportedly peddling the "arson, not climate change caused the Australian bushfires. Ignore this untruthful propaganda. The overwhelming majority of bushfires were started by lightning strikes. Climate change is a factor, for example, rainforest regions affected by higher temperatures, lower rainfall for the first time have burst into major bushfires after lightning strikes.
We've had some really bad bushfires in the past in Australia, but the last seven months have been the worst ever for bushfires.
Amongst other untruthful propaganda used by climate change deniers has been the dishonest attempts to blame the Greens political party by falsely claiming that they prevented fuel reduction burnoffs. This is just untrue. What's been limiting preventative fuel load reduction burnoffs has been drier, hotter weather in late Autumn, Winter & early Spring.
As the bushfire season gets longer and the time when we can do preventative fuel load reduction burnoffs is reduced due to climate change the consequences are bloody obvious... Bushfires in late winter, through spring and into summer, bushfires that burn with greater intensity for longer periods.
Prime Minister Scomo's pathetic "thoughts and prayers" and mulishly stubborn refusal to engage in more effective action to reduce Australia's greenhouse gases emissions go hand in hand with his support for huge new coal mining projects.
His Government is also embroiled in a political scandal regarding grants sports clubs being used for political purposes in marginal electorates held by Government MPs. PM Scomo leads a Liberal Party and National Party coalition government. The scandal has claimed the scalp of the National Party deputy leader & (I think) National Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister.

[MajorMitchell]

The sports grants were used for political purposes in the lead up to the Federal election in March 2019.

[MajorMitchell]

Oh, it's not just Fox news, the untruthful propaganda is being peddled imho by numerous Murdoch news outlets across multiple platforms from newspapers to tv & online internet thingy outlets.

[flash2015]

Aren't many of the lies being spread around even worse than that? I have seen conspiracy theories stating that not only were arsonists the cause but specifically that leftists were starting them to get people worried about climate change.

I have also seen a petition in my Facebook feed from conservative schoolmates to ban the Greens party too due to the backburning nonsense.

The science journalist Peter Hadfield (potholer54) does a good job debunking all this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0x46-enxsA

[MajorMitchell]

You're absolutely correct Flash, the untruthful propaganda comes in a variety of forms.