Amazon Fire: Deals for streaming TV stick appearing in Google search results for rainforest disaster

Brazil's rainforest has seen a record number of fires this year

Smoke billows during a fire in the Amazon (Reuters)

Devastating fires sweeping across the Amazon rainforest have provided an unexpected source of publicity for a product made by the eponymous technology giant.

Web searches for “Amazon fire” are listing results for the Amazon Fire TV Stick, a streaming media player sold by the online retailer.

Alongside news of the environmental disaster are links to “the best Amazon Fire deals”.

The device is currently being offered as part of a surprise summer sale, which has also seen the prices of the Amazon Echo Dot slashed.

There is no suggestion the timing of the sale was intended to capitalise on the disaster.

Two of the top three Google results for “Amazon fire” are also links to another Amazon Fire product, the Amazon Fire tablet.

Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has seen a record number of fires this year, according to new figures from the country’s National Institute for Space Research.

The agency detected more than 72,000 blazes since the start of 2019 – an 83 per cent increase from the same period in 2018.

Experts claim some of the fires in the world’s largest rainforest are being deliberately started in an attempt to deforest land to be used for farming.

Two of the top three Google results for ‘amazon fire’ show devices from the tech giant (Screen grab)

Alberto Setzer, a researcher with the agency, said: “The dry season creates the favourable conditions for the use and spread of fire, but starting a fire is the work of humans, either deliberately or by accident.”

Recently leaked documents suggest Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is deliberately obstructing conversation efforts of the Amazon rainforest.

Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.