News

Home » News

Avatar photo

By Agence France Presse

19 minute read

23 Aug 2019

10:36 am

Celebrities are spreading misinformation about Amazon fires

Reverse image searches have revealed that most images circulating on social media are outdated, and do not accurately depict what is currently happening in the Brazilian Amazon.

An aerial view of an area of land that has been scorched by fire in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, 20 August 2019 (issued 22 August 2019). According to media reports, the Brazilian Amazon region is suffering a record amount of fires, with an 84 percent increase on the same period last year. EPA-EFE/ROGERIO FLORENTINO

Many high-profile figures seeking to denounce the fires in the Amazon – from Madonna and Cristiano Ronaldo to Leonardo DiCaprio and Emmanuel Macron – have unwittingly ended up misleading millions on social media, either sharing photographs of the region that are years old or images taken in other parts of the world.

Official figures show nearly 73,000 forest fires were recorded in Brazil in the first eight months of the year, the highest number for any year since 2013. Most were in the Amazon.

“Our house is on fire. Literally. The Amazon, the lung of our planet which produces 20 percent of our oxygen is burning,” France’s President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter, posting a photograph of a burning forest (1) accompanied by the hashtag #ActForTheAmazon.

“It is an international crisis. Members of the G7, let’s talk in two days about this emergency,” Macron said ahead of a planned summit this weekend in Biarritz.

But the photograph used by the French leader does not show this year’s fires. A reverse image search showed that it was taken by the American photojournalist Loren McIntyre, known for his work for National Geographic.

Although the image search tool does not reveal when exactly the photograph was taken, McIntyre died in 2003, meaning the image is at least 16 years old.

(1)

Chile’s president, Sebastian Pinera, also ended up tweeting a misleading image to issue a warning about the fires, using a photograph (2) by Reuters journalist Nacho Doce from 2013.

(2)

Leonardo DiCaprio shared two pictures that proved to be inaccurate – the first (3) was the same one shared by Macron while the second (4) was shot in the Peruvian city of Puerto Maldonado in 2016.

Peru is not currently affected by the fires, though authorities are “on alert”.

(3)

(4)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

#Regram #RG @rainforestalliance: The lungs of the Earth are in flames. ???? The Brazilian Amazon—home to 1 million Indigenous people and 3 million species—has been burning for more than two weeks straight. There have been 74,000 fires in the Brazilian Amazon since the beginning of this year—a staggering 84% increase over the same period last year (National Institute for Space Research, Brazil). Scientists and conservationists attribute the accelerating deforestation to President Jair Bolsonaro, who issued an open invitation to loggers and farmers to clear the land after taking office in January.⁣ ⁣ The largest rainforest in the world is a critical piece of the global climate solution. Without the Amazon, we cannot keep the Earth’s warming in check. ⁣ ⁣ The Amazon needs more than our prayers. So what can YOU do?⁣ ⁣ ✔ As an emergency response, donate to frontline Amazon groups working to defend the forest. ⁣ ✔ Consider becoming a regular supporter of the Rainforest Alliance’s community forestry initiatives across the world’s most vulnerable tropical forests, including the Amazon; this approach is by far the most effective defense against deforestation and natural forest fires, but it requires deep, long-term collaboration between the communities and the public and private sectors. ✔ Stay on top of this story and keep sharing posts, tagging news agencies and influencers. ⁣ ✔ Be a conscious consumer, taking care to support companies committed to responsible supply chains.⁣ Eliminate or reduce consumption of beef; cattle ranching is one of the primary drivers of Amazon deforestation. ✔ When election time comes, VOTE for leaders who understand the urgency of our climate crisis and are willing to take bold action—including strong governance and forward-thinking policy.⁣ ⁣ #RainforestAlliance #SaveTheAmazon #PrayForAmazonia #AmazonRainforest #ActOnClimate #ForestsResist #ClimateCrisis ????: @mohsinkazmitakespictures / Windy.com

A post shared by Leonardo DiCaprio (@leonardodicaprio) on

Actor and rapper Jaden Smith, son of superstar Will Smith, posted a dramatic image (5) on Instagram that shows a vast forest on fire as huge columns of smoke rise from it. But the photo, which has garnered more than 1.5 million likes, dates back to 1989.

(5)

Argentine actress and singer Martina Stoessel also shared an old photo (6) with a Twitter post saying, “How sad to see this…”. That picture was shot by Getty Images photographer Mario Toma in 2014.

(6)

F1 driver Lewis Hamilton (7) and Brazil soccer captain Dani Alves (8) also posted one of the most widely shared misleading images — the picture taken by photographer McIntyre before 2003.

(7)

(8)

Meanwhile, tennis star Novak Djokovic (9) shared the 1989 photo posted by Smith.

(9)

Portuguese soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo sounded the alarm on Instagram, alerting his 180 million followers that “the Amazon Rainforest produces more than 20% of the world’s oxygen and its been burning for the past 3 weeks.” But the photo (10) accompanying his message was taken on March 29, 2013 by Lauro Alves, from the Brazilian agency RBS, in the non-Amazonian state of Rio Grande do Sul.

(10)

Barca striker Luis Suarez also posted an old photo (11) dating back to 2015 and shot by journalist Nacho Doce.

(11)

Puerto Rican pop star Ricky Martin (13) and Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello (14) also shared the McIntyre photo tweeted by Macron, DiCaprio and Alves.

(13)

(14)

US superstar Madonna posted the same 1989 image (15) shared by Smith and Djokovic, writing on Instagram: “President Bolsonaro please change your policies and help not only your country but the entire planet. No economic development is more important than protecting this land.”

“We need to WAKE -UP!!” she wrote.

(15)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.

Read more on these topics

Amazon celebrities Disasters fires

For more news your way

Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Politics EFF members call on Malema to protect the red berets from MK party
South Africa Will undocumented foreigners get free healthcare under NHI? – Motsoaledi responds
South Africa Joburg water outage: Here’s where to find your alternative water sources
South Africa Johannesburg water outage: Only 75 tankers available to serve residents as taps splutter
Opinion A VIEW OF THE WEEK: Have the youth outgrown Malema?

For more news your way

Download The Citizen App for IOS and Android

Click here to get The Citizen news and updates on Whatsapp.

Find out more

RELATED ARTICLES