[nighthawk]

Please do not contribute to spreading misinformation. It adds unnecessary strain on law enforcement.

https://www.opb.org/article/2020/09/...heck-debunked/

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that in rural parts of the state, vigilante groups have organized to drive off rumored threats. One of the station's reporters was recently stopped by such a group in Clackamas County and told to leave.

Law enforcement organizations have been working to quash the rumors.

In Douglas County, the sheriff's office shot down rumors that it had arrested several antifa members, calling the conflagration of misinformation a drain on resources.

"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," the Sheriff's office posted to its Facebook page this week.

Similar rumors spread in Jackson County, where officials opened an investigation into the Almeda fire.

"In no way does it point towards any political group, including anybody associated with antifa. Any rumors suggesting that it is pointed toward antifa are entirely fabricated," said Ashland Police Chief Tighe O'Meara.

The FBI field office in Portland says it has investigated such rumors are found them untrue.

"Conspiracy theories and misinformation take valuable resources away [from] local fire and police agencies working around the clock to bring these fires under control," the field office said in a statement on Friday.