His post called A New Form of Twerroism discusses a frightening new development highlighted by a New York Times article. It tells the story about bad guys carefully crafting a social media effort to try and wreak havoc in a community by posting a whole series of messages about a supposed chemical explosion. I suppose if you can't create a dirty bomb and set it off, the next best thing is to get everyone to believe you did and watch the panic happen.
About the same time, I came across this story in PR Daily about how KFC in China was having to combat a social media disinformation campaign that chickens served by the fast food company have six legs and eight wings, plus maggots, of course.
You've heard it here more than you wanted I'm sure: Emergency management and communication professionals must monitor social media because this is where rumors often generate and spread wildly. You've also heard: Rumor management is now job one.
I continue to be amazed at the number of people, including professionals, who say in a crisis: Why do we need a website, why do we need Facebook (or better, Twitter), why do we have to monitor, or why should we respond? It was Joseph Goebbels who is supposed to have originated one of my mantras: A lie repeated often enough becomes the truth. Goebbels could not possibly have imagined some of his outrageous lies becoming retweeted, repeated and "liked" millions of times in mere minutes. How he would have salivated at this kind of disinformation power.
We have our own evil folks around today, intentionally creating misinformation and disinformation. When people are desperate for information (as in when they think their life, health or safety might be at risk), then they are particularly vulnerable to the kind of twerrorism that the good chief points out.
Now, more than ever, monitor and manage the message. Because the bad guys will do all they can to do the same.
