Wild Social Media Conspiracy Theories Go Unchecked And Are Often Stoked By Some Westfield City Councilor’s In Water Bond Debate
While social media provides limitless opportunities for entertainment and discovery, it has also become a breeding ground for conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns. “Fake news,” as it’s commonly referred to, doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon. As confidence in the traditional information gatekeepers erodes, the problem will likely only get worse.
This presents a big challenge for our civic life. A healthy democracy requires a well-informed electorate that can agree upon basic facts that serve as a starting point for productive debate and discussion. But when voters minds are easily clouded with half-truths and wild conspiracy theories, they aren’t likely to elect the most qualified or best-intentioned politicians.
It’s unfortunate to see this playing out here in Westfield. Recently, on a well-read Facebook forum, highly irresponsible citizens have promoted ludicrously fabricated charges of corruption by Westfield officials over the water bond issue. These groundless, inflammatory posts prompted one recent commenter to wonder aloud if the Attorney General should get involved with investigating them.
Some of these individuals are motivated by an axe to grind or they might enjoy the attention and the perverse enjoyment they derive from instigating controversy and provoking reactions (“trolls,” in internet parlance). But whatever their persuasions are, they undermine our ability to have rational discussions about the important topic of our water infrastructure.
Even more worrisome is the apparent willingness of some sitting city councilors who allow wild accusations go unchallenged. Remember the 2008 presidential campaign when candidate John McCain matter of factly explained to a supporter that Barack Obama was not, in fact, a Muslim? McCain did the right thing there by correcting misinformation when presented with it, even if it was to his political disadvantage to do so.
One would hope that our own local elected officials would have similar integrity and will do their best to ensure good information gets presented to the public and help squelch any bad actors in the debate. Sadly, that’s not the case. In particular, City Councilors Allie, Emmershy, Flaherty, and Surprise–who frequently visit and post to the aforementioned forum–give misinformation and gross exaggerations a free pass if it casts their political opponents in a negative light. They do nothing to help foster thoughtful, civil debate.
Most alarmingly, we have seen instances where misinformation, gross mischaracterizations and wild conspiracy theories have been introduced and actually fueled by some city councilors. This kind of conduct is unbefitting an elected official and they should be called out publicly for it.
I have set up up a group on Facebook called the “Westfield City Council News Group” and will do my best to do just that. Comments and posts to the group are tightly controlled and all participants are encouraged to engage in fact-based debate in an effort to restore some semblance of civility to our public discourse. Maybe it’s a losing battle against the tide of incivility currently engulfing our politics, but I feel compelled to try to serve what I think are the best interests of our democracy and the community I live in.
Sincerely,
Steve Dondley
