It now appears that some people get their jollies by making up fake information and posting it on social media. I suspect that this has already crossed over into the first responder world with untrue information being relayed to 911, "false statements" on social media being made to police via social media, and then perhaps the worst part, relayed on to others who take it as the gospel and then ... it is everywhere!
See this short article,
Misinformation on Social Media: Can Technology Save Us? The answer is yes, to a degree. The real problem we have is the unwitting social media behaviors of average people who don't recognize the impact they are having by relaying incorrect and sometimes outright lies along to their social media network.
People being people and with social behaviors what they are today, I don't see a solution until our societal value systems change drastically. Not in my lifetime...
Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.
