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#ArsonEmergency: The Emergence of Misinformation, and How Implementing the Five Ws Ensures Educational Wellbeing

Keywords: Fire safety education, public safety awareness, digital literacy, misinformation, bushfire prevention, fire safety tips, emergency preparedness, fire hazard prevention, fire safety campaigns, fire safety resources, fire safety guidelines, fire safety information, fire safety measures, fire safety strategies, fire safety protocols, fire safety training, fire safety awareness, fire safety education programs, fire safety initiatives, fire safety best practices.

In 2020, Australia suffered a high scale of destructive bushfires, engulfing the country in flames. At the same time was the exponential rise of misinformation, heightened during such a disaster. As fires swept across sky and land at an alarming pace, the viral hashtag, #arsonemergency spiked over social media, paired with out-of-date images and slogans deliberately construing false headlines. that placed the blame on illusionary ‘arsonists’, in attempts to spike the polarisation between political spheres.

One of which read, according to ABC news was, ‘Australian Police Say Arsonists and Lightning to Blame from Bushfires, Not Climate Change' (Nguyen and Bogle). Many like this, were estimated to have been shared over 100,000 times over social media, from Facebook to reddit. This brought forth the question of credibility, however it was revealed that majority of these users were bots, or trolls, driven by malicious intent to cause misinformation. In, ‘The disaster of misinformation: a review of research in social media,’ Muhamed and Mathew report that, ‘Due to the uptick of worldwide internet users, bad actors share ambiguous or fake content through online services to influence users for financial and political gain.

Social media users approach online environments unsuspecting, making them susceptible to believing information without verifying.’ (Muhamed and Mathew 271).

In our current digital era, misinformation remains and will continue to evolve as an unfortunate byproduct that netizens and social media users must cautiously navigate. This is particularly significant for younger and older demographics, who may be unable to mitigate such content and critically evaluate its credibility. However, a keyway to tackle this is through simplicity, stemming back to our childhood Primary School teacher’s framework: The Five Ws.

The Five W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.

So, how exactly can this help us?.

Aside from fictional narratives, and story arcs, tracing back to these fundamental questions allows us to decipher, condense and contextualise key information applicable to our own life. When confronted by uncertain pieces of mis/disinformation, these markers allow for optimisation when trying to condense key points of information and data.

When referring to the Summer Safety 2024 Campaign Kit, produced by Fire and Rescue NSW, it is possible to draw out its credibility and refer to it as a verifiable source to provide educational information on Fire Safety. (Fire and Rescue NSW).

Image accessed through this link.

  1. Who Who produced this information, who is the audience, who funded this information?

    NSW Government, RFS and Fire + Rescue produced for the NSW community. This is found below the image, with the representative logos.

  2. What What is this information in reference to, what are alternative viewpoints / perspectives to this information, what is the context in which this information produced.

    This information is providing it through an effective image that is easy and accessible to understand, produced during the Christmas and New Years Festive season. The image creates awareness by utilising the danger of power points and wires, catching fire due to the proximity, getting entangled into the Christmas tree lights. The text is also emboldened, writing, ‘Be fire safe this festive season.’

  3. Where Where was this information produced, where can I find additional information relating to this topic, where can this information be applied in our daily lives / the world around us?

    NSW, Australia. The representative logos are placed below making it easy to locate more information.

  4. When When was this information produced, when is the information presented able to be implemented, when did the events in the information presented occur?

    This was produced during the peak summer months of Australia, and the Christmas/New Years festive season which sees an increase of outdoor and community gatherings, posing a higher risk of fire hazards.

  5. Why Why was this information written in this way, why was this information produced in the first place?

    The use of a graphic allows for easier accessibility to key information. Relaying fire hazards and education around public safety is done effectively through imagery. The elements of the Christmas tree and entanglement of wires engulfed in flames captures the attention paired with the minimal text.

  6. How How was this information gathered / how old is this information?

    Published during end of 2023 December and early 2024 January by the Fire + Rescue of NSW. The purpose was to educate communities and help prevent such incidents from occurring. The source is trustworthy and credible, established by a state government agency.

In comparison to the viral hashtag, #arsonemergency propelled across twitter and Facebook during the 2020 bushfires. Many of the key points of information established by the Five Ws would yield little to no information, effectively disproving it as an untrustworthy source of information.

Tracing back to the Summer Safety 2024 Campaign Kit, the Five Ws allows us to easily contextualise the information and verify it as a credible source produced for NSW, to remain safe and prevent fire hazards. This highlights the need for digital literacy, significant for netizens who come across overwhelming amount of information, available at the tip of our finger. While a simple hashtag may be overlooked, the damage it caused was at the cost of misinforming over thousands of users, alleviating the importance of education, from fire risk and safety to social media posts. In an article 'The disaster of misinformation: a review of research in social media' Muhammed and Mathew assert that, ‘individuals experience a rise in anxiety, keeping track on current events more frequently. They share multiple articles by credible sources, however when this is inaccessible, they turn to peer circles or mainstream sources leading to reach misinformation in an attempt to control social tension.’ (Muhammed and Mathew 271).

From this, it is critical to understand the importance of verifying such sources and take action to educate ourselves when coming across campaigns and social media pages. Many lead with the intent to mislead and cause unnecessary public disarray. The Five W’s is an effective, and practical strategy which allows for easy and accessible contextualisation of information, ensuring education and wellbeing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the 2020 Australian bushfires highlighted the dangers of misinformation, especially on social media. By using the Five Ws method—Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How—we can better evaluate the credibility of information we encounter. This simple yet effective approach helps us stay informed and safe, particularly when it comes to fire safety. Remember, verifying sources and understanding the context of the information we consume is crucial in preventing the spread of false information and ensuring our wellbeing.

References