Australian flood disinformation sparks threats to pilots

A handout photo taken and received on March 31, 2022 shows floodwaters inundating the city of Lismore. Posts shared online alleged aerial survey pilots from Handel Aviation caused a second deluge in the flood-ravaged New South Wales town of Lismore on March 31 by cloud seeding – dispersing a substance into the clouds to prompt rain. — New South Wales State Emergency Service/AFP

SYDNEY: An Australian aviation company says it has received more than 100 threats following an online conspiracy theory that its pilots unleashed a flooding disaster by cloud seeding.

Conspiracy theorists spread the false claims after weeks of torrential rains led to deadly east coast floods over the past two months, engulfing homes and sweeping cars from the roads.