Buzzfeed Displays Its Renowned Idiocy – Smokey Bear Edition – IOTW Report

Buzzfeed Displays Its Renowned Idiocy – Smokey Bear Edition

DW-

Buzzfeed News tried to show it was smarter than everyone when it comes to forest fires and the well-known mascot for preventing them, Smokey the Bear, by claiming the spokesbear’s campaign was actually bad for California.

Buzzfeed’s since-deleted tweet claimed Smokey advocated for wildfire suppression.

“Most experts now agree that a decades-long policy of suppressing fires in forests, a campaign fronted by Smokey Bear, was a bad idea,” the tweet said. “At best, it damaged ecosystems that need to burn from time to time. At worst, it created a tinderbox of unnaturally dense vegetation.”

The problem here is that Smokey the Bear didn’t advocate for wildfire suppression. He advocated for wildfire prevention, as evidenced by his wildly known catchphrase, “Only you can prevent forest fires.”

The Buzzfeed tweet was part of a thread discussing the recent forest fires in California. After deleting the tweet, Buzzfeed put up an explanation.

“We’ve deleted this tweet. Smokey Bear fronts a campaign for wildfire prevention, not wildfire suppression,” the new tweet read.

more

7 Comments on Buzzfeed Displays Its Renowned Idiocy – Smokey Bear Edition

  1. Fire actually creates the conditions required for Sequoia trees to propagate. Probably for other species as well.
    “Sequoias rely on fire to release most seeds from their cones, to expose bare mineral soil in which seedlings can take root, to recycle nutrients into the soil, and to open holes in the forest canopy through which sunlight can reach young seedlings.”

    5

Comments are closed.