Regarding the rapid spread of misinformation, the false "Police started the fires" rumour which you appear to have partially bought into was a good example of misinformation spread in realtime.
Despite there obviously being no police near the initial blaze (which begins around 32.10 here: https://www.twitch.tv/nzrdt1/v/1412647943?sr=a&t=1937s or can be seen here: https://i.imgur.com/SKu58nH.mp4), within minutes Chantelle's live stream went from her brother guessing that maybe police had knocked over a generator, to Chantelle definitively stating that it had been started by police, with all subsequent fires apparently caused by "Antifa".
Multiple other protestors repeated this lie, including Nikki on Zello claiming that she herself had seen police starting the fire (despite not being anywhere near the protest), and then reporters rebroadcast versions of the disinformation more widely, giving support to the protestors' delusions: "It’s possible that the fire was accidentally started by police removing a tent."
I was on the ground at the time and didn't have access to any of the information spreading online. You'll be glad to know we have an excellent investigation by Dylan Reeve in tomorrow's edition on this subject. What I reported was based on what I saw, which goes to show how difficult it can be to understand a chaotic situation happening just in front of you. I certainly have no interest in spreading any online misinformation.
Regarding the rapid spread of misinformation, the false "Police started the fires" rumour which you appear to have partially bought into was a good example of misinformation spread in realtime.
Despite there obviously being no police near the initial blaze (which begins around 32.10 here: https://www.twitch.tv/nzrdt1/v/1412647943?sr=a&t=1937s or can be seen here: https://i.imgur.com/SKu58nH.mp4), within minutes Chantelle's live stream went from her brother guessing that maybe police had knocked over a generator, to Chantelle definitively stating that it had been started by police, with all subsequent fires apparently caused by "Antifa".
Multiple other protestors repeated this lie, including Nikki on Zello claiming that she herself had seen police starting the fire (despite not being anywhere near the protest), and then reporters rebroadcast versions of the disinformation more widely, giving support to the protestors' delusions: "It’s possible that the fire was accidentally started by police removing a tent."
Hi there,
I was on the ground at the time and didn't have access to any of the information spreading online. You'll be glad to know we have an excellent investigation by Dylan Reeve in tomorrow's edition on this subject. What I reported was based on what I saw, which goes to show how difficult it can be to understand a chaotic situation happening just in front of you. I certainly have no interest in spreading any online misinformation.