medium disasterUNVERIFIEDLowered from high by a second read
Large wildfire detected near Australia
📍 Australia, AU·🕐 3h ago·1 outlet
NASA FIRMS satellite detected active fire near Australia. Fire Radiative Power: 421 MW (318 detection(s) in grid cell). Detection time: 2026-10-26 0548 UTC. Source: NASA FIRMS / NOAA-20 VIIRS.
How sure are we
1 outlet
Only one outlet so far: treat it as unconfirmed. That doesn’t make it false; it may be new, or an exclusive.
Who reported it
This report
View original source →Location
Verification Log1
second readlowered50%
[Claude, second read] Rates it LOW, not HIGH. satellite fire detection near Australia with no casualties or damage reported. Lowered from HIGH to MEDIUM.
3h agoPowered by WorldPulse Verification Engine
Reliability
Reliability ScoreHigh
77%Independent outlets1
Statusnot yet verified
AI checknone yet
Community flags0
Score bands
Very high80–100%
A highly rated outlet, or several independent outletsHigh60–79%
One well-rated outlet so farModerate40–59%
A lower-rated or state-run outlet, or one report of something seriousLow20–39%
A low-rated outlet on a serious or sensitive storyVery low0–19%
Treat it as unconfirmedWhat moves the score
◎
Outlet ratingThe outlet’s rating in WorldPulse’s list of sources starts the score
⇄
Independent outletsEach further outlet that reports the story closes 40% of the gap to 98%
±
Report detailsA few points either way: a summary and a place add a little; state-run outlets on conflict, politics or security, and single reports marked high or critical, lose some
Not in the score: AI checks and reader flags. Verified is separate: two or more independent outlets and a score of at least 65%.
High · How we score this
Risk Score
medium risk