It’s a shame.
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The days of the community campaign are on the out, and much of it is thanks again to the extreme fear-mongering rumour factory of our best friend (and enemy) social media.
He said-she said and petty arguments on Griffith Facebook pages have bureaucrats sitting back and enjoying the show, knowing their work is being done for them.
It’s a shame the organisers of the Griffith Base Hospital nurses’ quarters campaign haven’t stayed true to their roots and stuck with the genuine arguments having the tightest grip on public opinion.
Instead of spreading the word and relying on their instincts, compiling a case to keep the nurses quarters standing, the committee has been caught delving into contributing to the Griffith-based social media rumour mill.
Ultimately, a second-hand tip off about Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) influence in Area News employment policy has been projected as a noteworthy argument to justify saving the Griffith Base Hospital former nurses’ quarters.
Failing to go to either of the said parties to clarify the rumour before announcing the details at a public rally not only opens the committee up to defamation legal action from the MLHD representative, but it also throws into question the media ethics of The Area News.
For interest’s sake, and for those who actually care, the rumour is laughably inaccurate.
But for whatever the committee was hoping to gain from announcing the accusation at last Saturday morning’s public meeting instead saw a campaign’s credibility thrown into question, in one fell swoop.
The campaign arguably takes a bigger hit on the back of the false rumour than through any MLHD reply to policy and plan criticism.
It doesn’t matter if the ‘news’ appears on social media for public consumption secondhand, or straight from the horse’s mouth – an unsubstantiated rumour offered as fact on social media attracts the appropriate repercussions.
For any local groups wanting to take to social media for a cause, stick to the argument at hand, be picky with the information you project and justify the cause by making everything relevant and proven.
The chances of throwing the credibility of an entire cause into doubt over a single unsubstantiated swipe on Facebook will disappear.
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