As tragedy on Canfield Mountain unfolded, so did misinformation

As reports of last Sunday’s fire on Canfield Mountain and the subsequent ambush of firefighters began to flow, misinformation began spreading almost faster than the flames themselves.

North Idaho residents reported reading inaccurate updates on critical details of the shooting, including the number of victims, the number of perpetrators and the identities of those involved.

“When people are scared, they will jump to conclusions. People will find the worst possible outcome in their head because it’s just where the human brain goes,” said Coeur d’Alene native Elam Pack. “It’s important in these situations to wait for an official report and not just trust word of mouth, because it’s so easy for misinformation to spread and cause panic.”

Traci Gillig, an assistant professor of communications at Washington State University, said misinformation related to breaking news typically comes from people who have large online followings but are not true journalists.

“Journalists are responsible to verify everything they are saying before publishing,” Gillig said. “That’s one of the things that can sort of differentiate true journalists from people who just have a wide following online.”

Kootenai County Undersheriff Brett Nelson told The Spokesman-Review in an interview Wednesday people were spreading misinformation on the shooter’s motive.

“We ask everyone in the community not to speculate or assume and work off factual and credible information,” he said.

But that can be difficult when that public is driven by heightened emotions.

“With an event like this, fear is sort of the main emotion that can be sparked,” said Coeur d’Alene resident Ryland Hoit. “Just trying to take information, in a sense, with a grain of salt, knowing that it’s still developing is important and just not feeding into the fear spiral.”

Gillig emphasized the importance of referencing information from multiple sources. It’s easy for rumors to spread rapidly because of the speed of information dissemination in the digital age. That makes people who are in small circles vulnerable to misinformation, she said.

“Hearing things from one source and then sharing that information is not really the wisest approach,” Gillig said.

The inaccurate accounts of what happened last Sunday not only harmed the Coeur d’Alene community, but the vast number of tourists vacationing in the area.

Dan Slick, a Phoenix resident, was visiting Coeur d’Alene last week and said that he first learned about the shooting when he got a notification on his phone. But the article he read reported the wrong information on the number of fatalities. It was not until state troopers arrived at his condo to tell him to shelter in place that Slick learned what really happened on the mountain.

“Misinformation definitely has an effect, especially on people that get scared easily,” Slick said.

Ron Cavaille is a West Virginia resident staying in a rental home within 2 miles of Canfield Mountain. When he saw a column of smoke rising from the peak, he turned to the internet and said he discovered various contradicting sources. He said it was frustrating having to determine which one was true.

Cavaille said inaccurate reporting is “a real negative.”

At the time of the attack, rumors that were proven to be false had already made their way around social media. During the preliminary stages of the investigation, social media users took scanner traffic and posted it on Facebook in real time.

Some mistakenly reported a deputy had been shot, spurring frantic social media comments of people asking about their loved ones. Some inflated the number of people shot and even posted that members of Life Flight crews were hit, too.

During a news conference, Kootenai County Sherriff Bob Norris warned against the consequences of hearsay.

“That is really hard on the families,” Norris said. “Had they heard that, they would be able to identify their voice of their loved one.”

Initial reports about the type of weapon used were also inconsistent.

Several sources cited the use of a sniper rifle. But during Norris’ news conference, he confirmed that a 12-gauge shotgun was used. Shotguns are different from rifles in terms of range and damage.

“I hope we can ask our social media (account users) and … civilian journalists to take into consideration what you’re putting out there,” Norris said at the news conference. “Because it can be devastating.”

Sean Delaney, who was in town visiting family from Post Falls, saw reports that there could have been multiple shooters. He said misinformation is bound to happen when everyone is racing to announce the news.

“Local news is doing their best to try to get out the facts, and I think there’s grace if you get something wrong like that. In the fog of war, you don’t always have all the facts at the moment, so I think people are doing their best. I don’t think there’s anyone who will hold ill will towards any unintentional false reporting.”

Misinformation can also stem from official statements.

Gillig used the 2022 quadruple homicide at the University of Idaho as an example of an initial law enforcement statement being unreliable. Law enforcement claimed the community was safe and had nothing to worry about before the killer was apprehended.

“I do not think that law enforcement was trying to spread misinformation,” Gillig said. “I think that they were just trying to calm people down during a scary situation, but that is something where I think it was valid for people to say, ‘Well, is this really true?’ ”

More recently, the Professional Firefighters of Idaho issued a news release Wednesday afternoon expressing their confidence in the shooting investigation.

“Our officers have shared, and will continue to share, all the details we are currently aware of with investigators,” the release said.

But the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office then made its own post on Facebook, emphasizing official information will always be shared directly through verified law enforcement agencies.

“We ask the public to be cautious about unverified sources and to help us prevent the spread of misinformation,” the sheriff’s office said.

While it may seem straightforward, accurately conveying breaking news as quickly as possible is complex. Stories can easily become exaggerated as word of mouth rapidly escalates the circumstances of an emerging situation.

Mike Bundy, a Post Falls resident, said it’s important for sources to ensure they have all the facts before reporting on a tragedy because of the impact that misinformation can have on victims’ families.

“That’s how rumors get started, you know? I mean, how about those families of these firefighters, not knowing what’s going on, and then they hear misinformation like that? I mean, they should never have to deal with stuff like that, and that’s the problem.”

Reporter Alexandra Duggan contributed to this article.