Irresponsibility From Elected Officials on Social Media
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
Are you ignorant, or apathetic?
I don't know, and I don't care.
I wonder if people who hold elected office realize just how dangerous it is to post things on social media when they have no proof, or no claims, to back up their story.
The other day, I tore into another blogger via private message because he thought it would be a good idea to create a post that had little, to no, verifiable facts; and the few facts the post did contain didn't have any sort of citation.
I don't pretend to be someone who has any sort of journalistic credentials. The only training I ever received in journalism was the direction of the teacher who published the school newspaper I used to draw cartoons for. I have never pretended to be someone with journalistic chops like a Juan Montoya or a Jerry McHale, but it doesn't take someone with a degree in journalism to know you have to be able to have verifiable sources when you choose to run a story.
You can't just start writing something you pull out of the thin, blue air. There have been a couple of stories I have not been able to run because I was unable to come up with a second source, or one of the sources who is giving me information tells me the information they're giving me is unverifiable.
That really is the problem with modern-era citizen journalism. At least when print media was more of a professional institution, editors made sure reporters had multiple sources and they had done their research before allowing a story to appear in the paper. Today, anybody with an internet connection and a social media page can post any inane thought that comes tumbling through their head.
This is where problems occur. Many of these people fail to realize they have a following, and the people who choose to follow them retweet and repost whatever was originally written.
Some local bloggers and self-appointed community watchdogs often use these types of tactics to spread their sensationalist message, often times filled with misinformation in exchange for page views, likes, and clicks.
Recently, one of these community activists decided to release a statement that had an alleged quote that was said by the local school district's superintendent. The quote was a teaser for the community activists' live stream to be broadcast later that evening. People began sharing the quote and several people eagerly tuned in that evening to listen to the live stream. Through clever wording, the activist led his followers to believe he had proof the superintendent had said what he was quoted as saying. The live stream started, and then the time came when the discussion came to the quote. The quote was discussed, but when the people who tuned in began to ask for the audio of the meeting, no audio was provided. The host was asked if he had audio and if he was going to play the audio. He said he would "plead the Fifth Amendment" and later on he confirmed he had audio and video, however he never played the audio for his audience.
I am not saying the superintendent did, or didn't, say what the host alleges he said. I'm simply saying he offered no proof of his claim. It was simply another case of someone saying something that went uncorroborated and social media taking it to be gospel-truth.
That is the nature of the beast. In the age of citizen journalism, people will continue to post unsubstantiated claims and stories that have nothing to support their veracity.
The real problem begins when these same tactics are used by our elected officials to help spread an agenda based on fear and rumor instead of facts.
I have tried to avoid writing articles attacking politicians based on personal reasons. I have tried not to talk about candidates and their personal lives. I understand people like the salacious and articles written insulting political candidates and using profanity to describe them. One local blog constantly uses inappropriate comments when talking about politicians, often times using derogatory terms reserved for female dogs.
That is not what I want to do. However, I do believe some elected officials are making some very poor decisions in what they're posting on social media.
On May 9, a post appeared on Brownsville City Commissioner Jessica Tetreau's social media page that read, "Another positive not following orders and in a pharmacy with no mask. Some of our most vulnerable community members pick up their life saving medications from these locations, Lord help us."
Among the comments left to her post were several people wanting to know what pharmacy this happened at. Tetreau replied, "I don't know which one, I just know it happened."
The commissioner does not post a link to a story, nor does she provide any proof to her claim. She simply says she knows it happened.
This is a very irresponsible thing to post. First, I will state the obvious. How does she know someone who tested positive went into a pharmacy without wearing a mask? This isn't Nazi Germany. People who test positive for COVID aren't walking around with a big plus sign sewn to their clothing. There is no way to know if someone has tested positive for COVID by looking at them.
If she knows this happened because she recognized someone who was at a local pharmacy, she would have known what pharmacy this happened at. She may be getting the story from someone who saw someone they thought was infected, and if they are a medical professional telling the story, and they end up identifying the infected person, they are violating HIPAA privacy laws by giving an elected official privileged information.
I am still trying to stay at home as much as possible. I only leave the house for essential reasons. I do not think people should be walking around without facial coverings, and I think we should still be throwing caution to the wind; I do not believe the COVID pandemic is going away anytime soon.
This does not mean our elected officials should be telling stories without proof. Things are already scary enough without telling tall tales about infected people visiting pharmacies without masks.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Please be careful what you read on the internet. Just because it appears on Facebook or on Twitter doesn't mean it's true.
Ask questions. Demand proof.
Shame on those who would use rumor, hearsay, and innuendo to spread anger and fear. Our society already has way too much of both.
Are you ignorant, or apathetic?
I don't know, and I don't care.
I wonder if people who hold elected office realize just how dangerous it is to post things on social media when they have no proof, or no claims, to back up their story.
The other day, I tore into another blogger via private message because he thought it would be a good idea to create a post that had little, to no, verifiable facts; and the few facts the post did contain didn't have any sort of citation.
I don't pretend to be someone who has any sort of journalistic credentials. The only training I ever received in journalism was the direction of the teacher who published the school newspaper I used to draw cartoons for. I have never pretended to be someone with journalistic chops like a Juan Montoya or a Jerry McHale, but it doesn't take someone with a degree in journalism to know you have to be able to have verifiable sources when you choose to run a story.
You can't just start writing something you pull out of the thin, blue air. There have been a couple of stories I have not been able to run because I was unable to come up with a second source, or one of the sources who is giving me information tells me the information they're giving me is unverifiable.
That really is the problem with modern-era citizen journalism. At least when print media was more of a professional institution, editors made sure reporters had multiple sources and they had done their research before allowing a story to appear in the paper. Today, anybody with an internet connection and a social media page can post any inane thought that comes tumbling through their head.
This is where problems occur. Many of these people fail to realize they have a following, and the people who choose to follow them retweet and repost whatever was originally written.
Some local bloggers and self-appointed community watchdogs often use these types of tactics to spread their sensationalist message, often times filled with misinformation in exchange for page views, likes, and clicks.
Recently, one of these community activists decided to release a statement that had an alleged quote that was said by the local school district's superintendent. The quote was a teaser for the community activists' live stream to be broadcast later that evening. People began sharing the quote and several people eagerly tuned in that evening to listen to the live stream. Through clever wording, the activist led his followers to believe he had proof the superintendent had said what he was quoted as saying. The live stream started, and then the time came when the discussion came to the quote. The quote was discussed, but when the people who tuned in began to ask for the audio of the meeting, no audio was provided. The host was asked if he had audio and if he was going to play the audio. He said he would "plead the Fifth Amendment" and later on he confirmed he had audio and video, however he never played the audio for his audience.
I am not saying the superintendent did, or didn't, say what the host alleges he said. I'm simply saying he offered no proof of his claim. It was simply another case of someone saying something that went uncorroborated and social media taking it to be gospel-truth.
That is the nature of the beast. In the age of citizen journalism, people will continue to post unsubstantiated claims and stories that have nothing to support their veracity.
The real problem begins when these same tactics are used by our elected officials to help spread an agenda based on fear and rumor instead of facts.
I have tried to avoid writing articles attacking politicians based on personal reasons. I have tried not to talk about candidates and their personal lives. I understand people like the salacious and articles written insulting political candidates and using profanity to describe them. One local blog constantly uses inappropriate comments when talking about politicians, often times using derogatory terms reserved for female dogs.
That is not what I want to do. However, I do believe some elected officials are making some very poor decisions in what they're posting on social media.
On May 9, a post appeared on Brownsville City Commissioner Jessica Tetreau's social media page that read, "Another positive not following orders and in a pharmacy with no mask. Some of our most vulnerable community members pick up their life saving medications from these locations, Lord help us."
Among the comments left to her post were several people wanting to know what pharmacy this happened at. Tetreau replied, "I don't know which one, I just know it happened."
The commissioner does not post a link to a story, nor does she provide any proof to her claim. She simply says she knows it happened.
This is a very irresponsible thing to post. First, I will state the obvious. How does she know someone who tested positive went into a pharmacy without wearing a mask? This isn't Nazi Germany. People who test positive for COVID aren't walking around with a big plus sign sewn to their clothing. There is no way to know if someone has tested positive for COVID by looking at them.
If she knows this happened because she recognized someone who was at a local pharmacy, she would have known what pharmacy this happened at. She may be getting the story from someone who saw someone they thought was infected, and if they are a medical professional telling the story, and they end up identifying the infected person, they are violating HIPAA privacy laws by giving an elected official privileged information.
I am still trying to stay at home as much as possible. I only leave the house for essential reasons. I do not think people should be walking around without facial coverings, and I think we should still be throwing caution to the wind; I do not believe the COVID pandemic is going away anytime soon.
This does not mean our elected officials should be telling stories without proof. Things are already scary enough without telling tall tales about infected people visiting pharmacies without masks.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Please be careful what you read on the internet. Just because it appears on Facebook or on Twitter doesn't mean it's true.
Ask questions. Demand proof.
Shame on those who would use rumor, hearsay, and innuendo to spread anger and fear. Our society already has way too much of both.
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