Thread by @DFRLab

As fires rage across the western United States, doctored social media posts have gone viral primarily blaming leftist group #Antifa for setting fires forcing local authorities to divert resources to debunk these instances of #disinformation. medium.com/dfrlab/inauthe…

Mass reporting by locals has hampered coordination of relief efforts. Local law enforcement throughout the affected areas has taken to social media to urge the public to rely on official sources for information, and to refrain from sharing unverified rumors.

Several conservative Facebook groups and pages shared a screengrab of an alleged #antifa Twitter account, @ScarsdaleAntifa, who claimed that they had started the fires. Evidence suggests this is an inauthentic account created by a 4chan user to troll or confuse antifa supporters.

Rumors of #antifa's involvement were promoted by conservative politicians and activists including a Republican candidate for Senate in #Oregon. Though some appended their initial remarks, the original accusations found greater viral success.

Though #antifa was most frequently accused, the Proud Boys, a far-right group, were also accused without evidence of having set fires. A fake Medford Police Facebook post was circulated online. The Medford Police have debunked claims of arresting members of either group.

The @nytimes also ran a piece on the troll @ScarsdaleAntifa account, citing the @DFRLab, and how the account was amplified by the aforementioned conservative voices and QAnon supporters.
nytimes.com/2020/09/16/tec…

Correction: In the first tweet of this thread, #antifa is referred to as a "group". Antifa is not a formally recognized organization or group but rather a political protest movement generally associated with left-wing ideologies.