Tweet Power

There is currently a story making the news right now regarding South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. It all started with one tweet. In the tweet, sent out by a person named Logan Smith, it was reported that Governor Haley was about to be indicted by the department of justice for income tax related matters. Word spread quickly and faster than one can say "Chicken Little," credible news services, including the Washington Post, CBS and The New York Times, picked up the story. Representatives of the governor's office also quickly joined the fray by denying the story. It turns out there is no truth to what Smith supposedly reported.

Several thoughts come to mind about this. First of all, shame on Smith for being so irresponsible. If you are going to be a reporter, then you need to bend over backwards to make sure what you are reporting is accurate. (At least that is how it is supposed to work.) Even if Smith was not trying to be a reporter in this matter, then shame on him for spreading such a scurrilous rumor about another person as if it were fact. What he tweeted about Governor Haley was a lie. That is not acceptable in social circles, nor is it acceptable in any form of social media. My final thoughts revolve around the power of twitter itself.

Here we have an apparent little or unknown person tweet something about a public figure that I assume he does not like and seemingly instantly the entry is part of the national landscape. Never mind that it has not been confirmed or referenced. The fact the national media did not bother to check the credibility of the entry before they ran with it gives a negative glimpse as to where they are these days. Finally, this unfortunate incident shows how vulnerable all of us are to persons out to embarrass us or do us harm. We don't have to be public figures like Government Haley to be targets of such irresponsible meaness. Tweeter is a powerful media and must be treated with the highest respect by those who use it and those who draw from it.