SENIOR Superintendent Jack Wanky advised the public to be responsible with their online posts as these could create alarm and misinformation.
“These stories that are hoax can cause panic to the public,” he added. If they read “alarming stories,” they should not share it immediately, as it may not be true.
A lot of bum steers populate the newsfeeds of Facebook and Twitter. Bum steers are pieces of false information or bad advice that influences netizens to do the wrong thing.
I used to associate trolls with a mythical, cave-dwelling being depicted in folklore as either a giant or a dwarf, typically having a very ugly appearance.
These online ogres sow discord on the internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion.
Bacoleños and the Bacolod City Police Office fell victims of their offensive antics.
A Facebook post that went viral spooked Negrense netizens to stay inside their homes after a man supposedly carrying grenades was arrested at Gaisano mall on Thursday, May 25.
Wanky advised the public to be careful with their online posts that could create alarm and misinformation. “These stories that are hoax can cause panic to the public,” he added. If they read “alarming stories,” they should not share it immediately, as it may not be true. Amen to that.
He added that the public should always inquire from the police or other authorities if they have encountered fake news.
Sadly, we also get official bum steers. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police insisted that there is no presence of the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the country. “We don’t have ISIS in the Philippines,” asserted Colonel Edgard Arevalo, AFP public affairs office chief.
And yet we get from SolGen Jose Calida, “What is happening in Mindanao is no longer a rebellion of Filipino citizens. It has transmogrified into an invasion by foreign terrorists who heeded the clarion call of Isis.” Which is which?
Then there’s this, as noted by the Washington Post: “In declaring martial law, Duterte cited the beheading of a police chief – who is still alive.”
For his part, Trade Secretary Ramón Lopez called the continuing attacks of the Maute group in Marawi, Lanao del Sur, an “isolated incident.” And yet Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao – not just in Marawi or Lanao.
The National Government should lead by example. Do what it talks.
(bqsanc@yahoo.com)
