Stop the rapid spread of lies and mistruths

In his latest column Let the Busy World be Hushed, Fr Jason Murphy reflects on how certain social media apps are being used to spread misinformation and negativity.

The nasturtium flower grows with perfusion in garden borders, pots and hanging baskets, and creeps and crawls up trellises and over walls, bringing vibrant colour of red orange and yellow to the garden throughout the summer months and right up until the first frosts come along. It is the harbinger of Autumn coming to its zenith in the month of August with its show of Autumnal colours imbuing the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.

They are quick and easy to grow from seed, and indeed are edible but the nasturtium spreads at such a rapid rate that it can take over, often blocking out the light for plants that have been growing steadily along and altering the shape and height of companion plants that grow side by side as they too seek out the warmth and light of the sunshine.

In these past weeks, far from the hum of bees and the peace of our gardens, we watch in contrast at the scenes of rioting and violence in towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland, looting, burning of premises, indiscriminate attacks on people of colour as they walk along the streets, all in the wake of the misinformation and falsities that have been spread via social media in the days since the horrific Southport killings.

Disturbers who prey on the fears and anxieties of people, whose intent is only to spread further hatred within communities, to urge neighbour into pitch battle against neighbour as they sit back in armchairs and sun loungers and post their vitriol and loathing on Twitter, Whatsapp, Facebook, Snapchat and other forms of social media.

But this intentional spread of hatred and misinformation via social media does not just happen in these contexts, at a remove, from our peaceful back gardens. Such dissemination of falsities and character assassinations can happen as we receive, send and forward messages on Whatsapp and other messaging apps. We too can tear someone’s character and good name to shreds in an opinion that we share, albeit in the heat of a moment, to colleagues or friends, which in turn is forwarded many, many times ensuring that the greatest damage is done to an unknowing victim.

Like the nasturtium plant, a statement or an opinion spreads and grows with such rapidity, setting seed at every juncture that it becomes a widely held truth about an unwitting person, establishing itself as the gospel, according to the armchair texter.

Often times such chat groups are established amongst ‘friends’ or colleagues, the focus of which is the character assassination of a particular person or persons, other innocent bystanders being added into online conversations without their say so, of which they do not want to be part, afraid to leave the group in case they too will be the target of the vitriol that is leavened out.

Indeed in ever increasing cases of bullying in the school yard, children are added into Snapchat groups with the sole aim of publicly bullying and humiliating them, at times threatening them, uploading distorted images of them to further reduce their standing and increase their isolation among friend groups. It has gone so far in certain cases that children have been encouraged by others to end their very lives. The victim attempts to leave the online group only for another to be created and they are added again to further perpetuate the bullying.

This form of gossip and character assassination pervades in all walks of life for example even those who volunteer and give of their free time on Saturday mornings training children on soccer and GAA pitches have cited incidences of falling victim to Whatsapp groups and commentary on Facebook, so much so that some have thrown in the towel, stating that it's just not worth the hurt that is inflicted on them by those who stand by and have nothing to give only the negativity that is spread.

St Paul in his writing to his group of followers in Ephesus in last Sunday’s scripture readings tells them ‘to be friends with one another and kind, forgiving each other, never holding grudges or calling each other names or allowing any sort of spitefulness amongst each other’. Guiding words that we all would do well to listen to and put into practise in the everyday of our lives but, of course, those who hear or pay heed to the likes of St Paul are growing less and less as we write our own epistles and live by our own gospels and moral codes and society becomes a much more complex place in which to live without an ultimate truth to guide us.

But those who are victims of online abuse or character assassinations should take heed that all defamatory statements made online whether it be in Whatsapp groups or on Facebook etc (under the Defamation Act 2009) are now actionable per se, meaning that they do not require proof of actual damage having been suffered by the defamed party so perhaps it is time that we all stand up against the purveyors of vitriol and stop the rapid spread of lies and mistruths by calling a halt to online bullies.

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