ABC News deleted a misleading tweet Tuesday depicting the wildfires in Australia and issued a correction.
The original tweet showed “a superimposed map of Australia over the U.S.” It claimed to depict “the scale of the massive wildfires that have spread across the country.”
A now-deleted tweet from ABC News claimed to show the spread of wildfires in Australia superimposed on top of a U.S. map. (Screenshot Twitter, ABC News)
The tweet received backlash, with many noting that the map appeared to show all of Australia on fire. The wildfires have been going on since September and scorched an area two times the size of Maryland, according to Fox News.
ABC News issued a subsequent tweet with a correction after deleting its original. The outlet also updated its article with the new map.
“Corrects previous map, which indicated overall regions affected the blazes,” the new tweet reads.
A superimposed map of Australia over the U.S. shows the spread of the many massive wildfires raging across the country. [Corrects previous map, which indicated overall regions affected the blazes.] https://t.co/XeL6IjyZWZ pic.twitter.com/fy2JOOsZEt
— ABC News (@ABC) January 7, 2020
“A superimposed map of Australia over the United States shows the hot spots around the country as the massive wildfires have spread Down Under,” the article reads.
Over 130 fires are still burning in New South Wales alone, according to ABC News. Some of the fires are believed to have been deliberately started. (RELATED: Here’s What Wildfires Are Doing To California As Citizens Cope With Rolling Blackouts)