Trump's forest remarks 'rake news' for Finland

Social media in Finland was ablaze with bemused comments yesterday after US President Donald Trump claimed the forest-covered nation prevents wildfires by raking its forest floors.

Speaking to reporters during the weekend while in California to see the impact of devastating forest fires, the US president again blamed forest management, but said Finland had the answer.

Trump cited the Finnish president as telling him Finns "spend a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things (in the forest), and they don't have any problem".

However the Nordic country's president, Sauli Niinisto, told the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper on Sunday that he had no recollection of raking being mentioned when the pair met in Paris a week ago.

"I told him that Finland is a country covered in forests, but we also have a good warning system and network," the president said.

Finnish social media users were quick to pile in, describing Trump's comments as "rake news" and posting pictures of themselves brandishing the garden implement.