Bushfires: Americans tune in to Australia’s tragedy

More than 40 members of the US congress have written a letter of support in response to Australia’s bushfire crisis.

More than 40 members of the US congress have written a letter of support in response to Australia’s bushfire crisis, saying Australians can count on Americans to stand side-by-side with them.

The move follows offers of help this week from Donald Trump and comes amid widespread media coverage of the bushfire tragedy across the US.

It also comes as both sides of US politics and the media ­continue to use the fires to support­ or rebut their views on the impact of climate change.

The bushfires have triggered mostly critical scrutiny in the US media of Australia’s climate change policies and of Scott Morrison’s leadership during the crisis.

A story in The Washington Post on Friday (AEDT) was headlined, “As fires devastate Aust­ralia, a coal-loving leader faces an early test”.

“The wildfires raging now on his continent, supercharged by climate change linked to the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, have created a searing test of Morrison’s ability to lead his country through the crisis,” the story said.

A day earlier The New York Times ran a story accusing conserva­tive media in Australia, ­especially publications owned by Rupert Murdoch, including The Australian, of a campaign of misinformation on bushfires coverage in order to “shift blame to the left, protect conservative leaders and divert attention from climate change”.

Meanwhile, Democrat presidential frontrunner Bernie Sanders­ has used the fires to draw attention to his own climate change policies. “I say to those who are delaying action on clim­ate change: Look at the blood-red sky and unbreathable air in ­Australia because of raging forest fires. Our futures are all connect­ed. That is why we must bring the world together and enact a Green New Deal,” he tweeted.

Right-wing groups in the US are also suspected of fuelling claims that arson attacks are a major cause of the bushfires, the implication being that climate change is not a factor.

Tweets using hashtags including #ArsonEmergency have promote­d often inaccurate claims about the number of arson attacks­. Australian experts say many tweets using the #Arson­Emergency hashtag appear to be fake “twitter bot” accounts used to spread disinformation.

Graphic and prominent coverage of the Australian fires has ­become a nightly event on mainstream US news channels whose previous coverage of Australia rarely extended beyond stories on crocodiles or sharks.

In a letter sent to Australia’s ambassador to the US Joe Hock­ey­ on Friday, 43 members of congress said the US would stand by Australia in its time of need just as Australia had stood by the US in distant battlefields and during the recent Californian bushfires.