It was also mentioned by Infowars founder and infamous conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his radio show on January 8.



The theory — which, let's just say it, is not true — alleges that the fires have been deliberately lit to force out land owners and clear the way for the construction of Australia's high-speed rail project, which has been wheeled out as a concept by politicians for decades, only to be promptly returned to the drawer to gather dust.

The theory has several similarities to one spread during the the 2018 wildfires in California claiming the fires were caused by lasers to clear way for their high-speed rail network.

Versions of the Australian theory vary, but most claim the high-speed rail private company consortium Consolidated Land & Rail Australia (CLARA) is working with an Australian government — sometimes federal, sometimes state — to light the bushfires. Some link foreign governments as well. CLARA didn't respond to an interview request from BuzzFeed News.

Many say the scheme is part of the UN's Agenda 21 — a declaration that conspiracy theorists claim without evidence is to create a new world government.

Purported proof of all this in the viral posts does not stand up to scrutiny.



A BuzzFeed News comparison of the federal government's proposed high-speed rail route and areas affected by bushfires during December 2019 show that there is almost no overlap between the two areas.





