A story in the Wednesday, Aug. 21, edition of the Brandon Valley News caught our attention this week as a precautionary tale for all communities to be aware of.
A Facebook post reporting over-the-limit radium levels in Brandon’s drinking water sent residents into a tailspin and prompted city administration to call a press conference to set the record straight.
On July 28, the anonymous Facebook page, City of Brandon Dirt, posted information about what had been a factual radium levels report, but falsified the facts in the report.
It ultimately informed readers that the city’s drinking water exceeded EPA and state standards, meaning the health of city residents was potentially in jeopardy.
The Aug. 14 press conference — presumably intended to involve actual — credible — news sources sought to inform the public that the report was falsified.
City Administrator Brian Read told a crowd of people gathered at the conference that falsifying information on social media and creating a fear factor among residents is unacceptable.
“That’s worse than yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theater,” he said. “The First Amendment protects a lot of things. [It] doesn’t protect lies and defamation.”
The Star Herald has long been encouraging readers to consider the sources of social media information before accepting and sharing online — especially if it’s inflammatory and without credible sources.
Fortunately a few Brandon residents saw the false report for what it was and alerted authorities who alerted the public — the right way: Through public meetings and through credible media outlets.
Please, please, dear readers. Take heed from this Brandon story and check your fact-checking skills.
A news source is credible when it has a reputation for fact checking and correcting errors. ... A reputation for credibility is something that is built up over time, but generally trustworthy sources are easy to recognize.
They are the ones without the unbelievable stories carrying “breaking news” headlines.
The Brandon debacle should be a lesson for all community news consumers
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Star Herald Editorial