Conspiracy Theories About Antifa, Proud Boys Spreading As Fast As Oregon Wildfires

KEY POINTS

Oregon authorities said they were backed up with calls by residents asking about these conspiracy theories
The Oregon wildfires have burned through over 900,000 acres of land and were pushing toward the Portland suburbs
Investigators have not ruled out arson as a possible cause for the fires, but said they found no evidence so far suggesting it

Local authorities in Oregon warned residents of false information and conspiracy theories appearing online claiming that members of the far-left and far-right were responsible for starting the wildfires.

As of Friday, the wildfires in Oregon burned through roughly 900,000 acres.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said the conspiracy theories are making it more difficult to respond to the fires.

“Remember when we said to follow official sources only. Remember when we said rumors make this already difficult incident even harder?” the office said in a Facebook post. “Rumors spread just like wildfire and now our 9-1-1 dispatchers and professional staff are being overrun with requests for information and inquiries on an UNTRUE rumor that 6 Antifa members have been arrested for setting fires in DOUGLAS COUNTY, OREGON.”

That rumor appeared online Thursday claiming six Antifa members were in custody for arson. Paul Joseph Romero Jr., a former Republican candidate for Senate, posted the theory on Twitter. It was shared shortly after by the conspiracy group QAnon.

“Do your part, STOP. SPREADING. RUMORS!” the Douglas Sheriff’s Office said in the post. “Follow official sources of information such as local emergency response websites and pages, government websites and pages and local reputable news outlets.”

Police in Medford, Oregon, said they were seeing similar conspiracy theories online targeting the right-wing group the Proud Boys. The department said a graphic saying five Proud Boys were arrested for arson for starting one of the fires was false by pointing out the picture of the “suspects” was from an unrelated 2018 arrest.

State and local officials are still investigating the fires causes, echoing local authorities in telling residents to only follow official channels for information.

“These investigations take time,” Jackson County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Mike Moran said in a press release. “They’re intense. They’re fast moving. And so people ought to consider: ‘Does this even make sense?’ They should question anything they see in a social media setting.”

When asked if it was possible arson played a role in the wildfires, Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts said they had no evidence suggesting it but didn’t rule out the possibility.

“At this point in time we don't have any evidence of that [arson] but the origin of those things will be part of an investigation as things move forward,” Roberts told reporters Thursday. “So, as you can imagine a fire to this magnitude, there'll be an in-depth investigation looking at all the possibilities and anything that might come forward, regarding that. But at this particular point in time nothing conclusive that would direct us to that any of that.”