<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/a-culture-of-fear-bushfire-survivor-tells-senate-inquiry-how-climate-misinformation-fuels-trauma-and-silences-voices/>
"Australia’s escalating misinformation crisis is not an abstract problem
measured in bot networks, engagement metrics or parliamentary submissions.
For bushfire survivor Fiona Lee, it is a personal assault — one that began when
her family home outside Taree was destroyed in the Black Summer fires and
continues every time she dares to speak publicly about the role of climate
change.
Appearing before the Senate inquiry into information integrity on climate and
energy, Lee revealed that behind coordinated misinformation campaigns could be
a real person trying to rebuild their life.
“I’m a Black Summer bushfire survivor, and my family home burned to the ground
outside of Taree on the eighth of November 2019,” she told senators. “We lost
our home with about 1.4 degrees of warming, and I’m very fearful of what the
bushfire seasons will look like when my young child is my age.”
This fear — and a determination to protect others — is why Lee joined Bushfire
Survivors for Climate Action (BSCA) and began speaking publicly. But from the
moment she did she became a target not of debate, but of sustained online
abuse.
“It’s become an unbelievable part of life for me and people who speak up, and
it feels pretty targeted and relentless.”
Lee described social media comment threads filled with taunts, fabricated
claims, climate-denial conspiracies and strings of laughing emojis — “the
laziest way to troll”, as BSCA put it in their submission — but devastating in
effect when deployed on posts about someone’s loss.
“I tolerate this, but I don’t think I should have to… I don’t expect to be
abused and met with untrue information, cruel comments, conspiracy theories and
outright denial of the role that climate change played in the disaster that
destroyed our home.”
“These attacks compound our trauma, silence people and create a culture of
fear.”
“When I go on social media and I see hundreds of comments… calling me names and
flat out denying climate change is happening, it’s obviously really hurtful.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
