Every now and again there's a rumour about Greggs opening on Rye High Street or McDonalds taking over a closed shop. How we laugh as the debate rages online, but there is a darker side to misinformation and it can have a real effect on life in our town.
A fortnight ago a fake press release about a new immigration detention centre on Rye Harbour Road was published on social media. It was - journalistic phrase coming up - cobblers. Instead of calm research, the town went straight to DEFCON 1 and let rip with instant opinions expressing fury at the idea.
Whatsapp exploded too. There was a lot of caps lock anger. IS THIS TRUE?
Well no it wasn't. A quick 30 seconds on Google sorted that. Also, the fake press release had typos and quoted a made-up civil servant. The stunted up bogus BBC story had spelling mistakes. Surely enough to make people think twice before opening up the laptop and having a rant. Apparently not. Plus those who got in touch with Rye News were genuinely worried.
Harmless fun? You decide, although it wasn't hugely impressive to see people dragging the volunteers at RNLI Rye Harbour into the online debate. Interestingly, the fake news was published on the same day of the Starmer / Macron agreement on the boats. Why?
The source of the story on Facebook has since deleted the post. Screengrabs are available if you missed it.
More worrying though is how some people in our town use social media or online messaging services like Telegram or Whatsapp to spread misinformation. It's not just Russian bots who are up to no good, it's people we see every day - literally our neighbours - and it's time to call it out.
The common theme and tone (again screengrabs are available) is that anyone trying to make a difference in our town is incompetent, on the make or corrupt. Usually all three. Whether elected or not it seems no good deed goes unpunished in Rye.
Of course if you have proof - real proof - of criminal wrong doing or corruption you'll have reported it to the police. Do forward on the crime number.
If not, and your level of proof is along the lines of a bloke told me in the pub, then perhaps have a bit of a think before passing on your dodgy insight and libellous comments.
Have a look at Section 1 of the 2013 Defamation Act. It is very clear about libel, especially on "disparaging a person in their business, trade, office or profession."
Plus it is possible to disagree without resorting to bullying and abuse.
There are huge problems in Rye that need sorting. Sorting by people standing up and doing something. But why would you if all you're going to get is constant moaning and a monstering online? There are some really good candidates putting themselves forward for the vacancy on Rye Town Council, here's hoping they all have thick skins.
So yes, of course, have an opinion. Feel free to share it. But for the love of all things holy, do a bit of research first before firing up the laptop and (angrily) knocking out your opinion.
Perhaps also think about the reaction your hot take will have on the people you're writing about.
And next time when someone vents their anger and starts spreading malicious information, don't just roll your eyes, call them out too.
