Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!)
Posted by Matt Singley on January 18, 2010 under Technology | 
35 Comments to Read
Today we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., and as such I intended to not post anything about social media, instead choosing to focus on the hope and vision that Dr. King believed in. That has changed after reading today’s blog post by Penelope Trunk, the Brazen Careerist; I have now decided to write about both social media and racism. After reading her inflammatory post about what she considers to be a “racist rodeo” I got to the kicker…her very last line incites her users to publicly lambaste the McDonald’s corporation on Twitter, telling them that we won’t put up with racism and hate. The obvious inference here is that McDonald’s does indeed support both racism and hate by supporting the All-Star Rodeo, and event that Ms. Trunk determined to be full of racist clowns and cowgirls that are only interested in threesomes. My big problem with all of this? She didn’t bother to fact check before calling up an angry mob. I brought this to her attention in the comments section, but she seemed to shrugs it off as if facts had nothing to do with it.
In this day and age of social media people can, and do, often write and publish opinion as if it were fact. As I write this, I still do not know if McDonald’s does officially sponsor the rodeo or not, but I have reached out to them for comment. Taking a step back, to so broadly describe the rodeo as racist because of one person’s obviously emotional blog post is, in my opinion, a mistake. Social Media allows anybody to publish anything at anytime. Most people that do this have small audiences, but some, like Ms. Trunk, actually get a pretty big following. I don’t know where the breaking point is, but certainly it must be acknowledged that at a certain point a person does have a certain amount of social responsibility when they have such a large audience.
She writes and gives business advice to Generation Y, and is widely held as an expert on many subjects. I think all of that is wonderful, and I wish her nothing but the best. However, the regurgitation of opinion framed to decry racism on Martin Luther King Jr. Day without doing any diligence or getting any facts from those accused is simply wrong. It is the digital equivalent of lighting the torches and storming Frankenstein’s castle…only in this case the monster is a large corporation. Racism is, in my opinion, often spread by fear and hatred, with very little room for facts or personal understanding. When I apply that same measure against Ms. Trunk’s charge to “do an act of activism” and “each Twitter today: @McDonalds Racism is not okay and neither is hate. Please stop your support of the All-Star Rodeo”, I see that she is spreading fear and hatred, with very little room for facts or personal understanding. I hate seeing such spurious activism being propagated through social media…already many people have tweeted that message, but I am guessing than none of them have done any fact checking.
I wasn’t there, so I don’t know what happened. I do know that racism happens every day in this country and all around the world, and it should not be tolerated. I also believe that posts like this actually hurt the effort to bring true change and healing to our country as it relates to race.
Penelope Trunk’s blog has over 60k unique visitors, and that is where social media and responsibility come into play. With one tweet, she not only tied McDonald’s to racism and hate, but also asked others to do the same…all without checking with a single person from McDonald’s or the rodeo as to what the facts are. I run social media programs for some of the largest and most widely recognized brands in the world, and I was incensed by her lack of professionalism or follow-up. It seems that these days it is far easier to incite anger and hate than it is to educate and understand a problem. I know that Ms. Trunk has subscribed to this theory also, at least in the past. In her post from August 2007 she says:
“But this is what I know: The core to stopping racism is to understand it, and then trust the understanding. That’s how we can be ready to call out racism as something wrong when we need to.”
I believe that also…I believe in understanding. However, throwing around accusations and then asking your followers to do the same does not promote understanding, it propagates misunderstanding and confusion. I believe that the idea behind the message that racism will not be tolerated is spot on, but the delivery was inappropriate.
How does this tie into social media? For me it is very simple and can be summed up in just a couple of words: responsibility and accountability. Now that social media allows us to spread a message around the world with just a few key strokes, all people…authors, tweeters and retweeters, should consider what they are publishing before they do, especially when something is as charged as accusations of racism. I would strongly encourage all to do some research before they put “publish”.
I want to let you know that I did reach out to McDonald’s, the All-Star Rodeo and to Penelope Trunk. My efforts took a total of fewer than 10 minutes, but 10 minutes well spent. I wasn’t able to get in touch with anybody personally at McDonald’s, although I did find facts on their corporate website about how sponsorships and fundraising are handled. They say, “It’s important to know that approximately 85 percent of our restaurants are individually owned and operated by private business people. The decision to provide local sponsorship or donations is up to the individual franchise owner.” I have not heard back from Ms. Trunk yet, if she responds to my email I will certainly make a note of that here. The All-Star Rodeo did get back to me and sent quite a long email explaining their stance on the situation:
“All Star Rodeo Challenge was not sponsored by McDonalds it was raising money for the Ronald McDonald House Charity through autograph bandana sales at our Cowboys for Kids Pre Show of which 100% went to the Charity. Our cowboys and personnel went to local hospitals to visit sick children and brighten their day for no financial gain. In fact we raised over $15,000 for the Charity last year. In 2008 we worked with the Deanna Favre Hope Foundation and raised over $150,000 for women in Wisconsin for treatment of breast cancer. We as an organization always try to work with a charity in each market to give back to the community… We also believe in the First Amendment and freedom of speech. We believe you (referring to Penelope Trunk) have a right to your opinion, but also believe that does not necessarily make it true…many misrepresentations were made with no consideration of the truth.”
My point here is a simple: personal opinion is good…and publishing it online is great! Activism is what will continue to evolve our communities and countries into places where anybody, regardless of race, gender or religion, can thrive. Social media can be a great place to bring attention to problems…but if you are going to be making a stand, make sure that you have your facts in line before you hit the publish button.
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Tweets that mention Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) » Matt Singley | Social Media Optimization -- Topsy.com said,
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Matt Singley, 2guystalking. 2guystalking said: RT @mattsingley: Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) My response to Penelope Trunk's post http://bit.ly/7JUMjA [...]
Jack said,
We live in interesting times. There is a very low barrier to entry into the world of online publishing. Bloggers are publishers of varying size and skill.
I think that many bloggers appreciate the shades of gray that are afforded by not being a professional journalist. It provides cover and an excuse to not do background work.
It is a problem and it is one of the reasons why I think it is critical that readers accept responsibility for taking a hard look at the validity and accuracy of what they read.
Melinda said,
I am so very glad that you wrote this. It needed to be said. Thank you!
Deborah Hymes said,
I was one of the first people to retweet Penelope Trunk’s call-to-action last night. I reasoned that since her ticket stub said “McDonald’s” then her belief that the event was sponsored by McDonald’s corporation was accurate. It didn’t occur to me to consider that McDonald’s is a franchise licenser and I didn’t take the time to examine it too closely.
And to be honest, I got all riled up over the Obama skit.
I completely agree with you. Reasoned personal opinion is one thing. Activism entails an entirely different level of personal responsibility — both as a leader and as a follower.
Thanks for the reminder.
The Foolproof Way to Separate Fact from Fiction on Twitter | Meryl.net said,
[...] I drafted this post, I received Matt Singley’s Blog Thoughts update. In it, he echoes the theme of misinformation and the problem with assumptions. Short [...]
Avi H said,
My mantra at work is read, re-read, verify and verify again. And now with social media, where you can go viral in a matter of seconds, one has to multiply that mantra by 1000. There is a measure of responsibility that people must have when communicating online especially when their following is that extensive. I am always so aware that anyone…ANYONE can read my blog and how closely linked my reputation is to it. But maybe some people care more about hits and popularity than reputation and integrity. My observation with the McDonald’s thing, cause I do follow her blog, was not that the company was racist but that one has to be so cognisant of what is happening out there with your brand and who is using your brand where and for what, and one cannot always control what happens at events your brand may be directly or indirectly aligned with. Whether the act in question was racist is nebulous, but to brand the entire franchise as racist was a bit much. And worse to incite followers to boycott the brand…ummm. Thank you for the follow up cause I did read the post in question.
mattsingley said,
Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) My response to Penelope Trunk’s post http://bit.ly/7JUMjA
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
2guystalking said,
RT @mattsingley: Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) My response to Penelope Trunk’s post http://bit.ly/7JUMjA
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
transitionpete said,
@mattsingley // followed the Trunk/McDs/racism dialog thru-out the day.. read & appreciate your latest post about it // http://bit.ly/7JUMjA
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
kelvin8048 said,
Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) http://j.mp/7JrFYC
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
julito77 said,
RT @mattsingley Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) http://is.gd/6ypnB
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
joltsocialmedia said,
Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) http://bit.ly/8PQDb9
#socialmedia
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LDGourmet said,
RT @JessicaGottlieb “I want to be responsible http://bit.ly/7JUMjA I’m no journalist, but I’m going to try” Hear Hear! Transparency too!
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TPRIndia said,
Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) http://tinyurl.com/yzlc4ly) – good read via @mattsingley
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
PRCAI said,
Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) http://tinyurl.com/yzlc4ly) – good read via @mattsingley
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
zkellyq said,
Insightful RT @mattsingley: Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking(and Racism!)My response to Penelope Trunk’s post http://bit.ly/7JUMjA
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
zkellyq said,
@handshake20 Def read @mattsingley’s response: Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!)… http://bit.ly/7JUMjA
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
handshake20 said,
RT @zkellyq RT @mattsingley: Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking(and Racism!)My response to Penelope Trunk http://bit.ly/7JUMjA
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Jan_B said,
RT @mattsingley Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) http://is.gd/6ypnB
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Fred Schlegel said,
Good advice. With the emphasis on speed fact checking appears to be a dying art.
Fred Schlegel’s blog …Filtering Ideas – Yodeling Pickle
This comment was originally posted on Meryl.net
carmelmichelle said,
@mattsingley bravo on smart post http://bit.ly/4M17Qb “…people can, and do, often write and publish opinion as if it were fact.”
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
kevinnorman said,
Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) http://bit.ly/5h3JNC Excellent post by @mattsingley
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
tatitosi said,
RT @kevinnorman: Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) http://bit.ly/5h3JNC Excellent post by @mattsingley
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
michaelsainz said,
RT @mattsingley: Yestrdy I wrote a post responding to Penelope Trunk’s “McDonald’s Supports Racism” post http://bit.ly/7JUMjA now her bl …
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Avil Beckford said,
Meryl,
Thank you for blogging about this topic. Because of the instant nature and ease of use of Twitter we can all fall into the trap of retweeting false information.
As a researcher with over 15 years experience, I come across false information that is taken as fact all the time. And I have seen many people who you would expect to know and do better using the false information.
A rule of thumb is to find three independent sources to verify information, and pay attention to the original source. Good places to use information are universities, government sources, watchdog agencies (nothing is ever fool proof. Questions to ask is the person’s motivation for presenting the Information? Is the person objective or biased?
If your readers are interested they could read these two posts that I wrote:
How to Analyze Information http://theinvisiblementor.com/2009/09/18/how-to-analyze-information/
Because Everyone is Saying It, Doesn’t Make It Right
http://theinvisiblementor.com/2009/09/29/because-everyone-is-saying-it-doesnt-make-it-right/
Thanks for dealing with this subject. Avil Beckford
Avil Beckford’s blog …The Invisible Mentor Interviews Lynn Kahle
This comment was originally posted on Meryl.net
Davina said,
I probably should check sources more than I do, but I generally only RT blog posts of bloggers I’ve followed for a while. This was a good reminder Meryl. It’s true, you can’t believe everything you read on Twitter. That is sad to say.
Davina’s blog …I Find Stillness
This comment was originally posted on Meryl.net
stimuluswatchdg said,
Did @penelopetrunk slander @mcdonalds without checking her facts? http://bit.ly/4M17Qb Maybe we should boycott her company @brazencareerist
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
George Angus said,
One of the unintended consequences of social media is that it has allowed anyone to be an instant reporter. Lots of folks have an ax to grind and others are just to lazy to do their research. They have no idea of the damage they cause, or they just don’t care.
A good reminder to not take things at face value.
George
George Angus’s blog …Netbookz! Umm, Bookflix? Aw Heck, Just Read the Post
This comment was originally posted on Meryl.net
Matt Singley said,
Hi Meryl, thanks for including my recent article in this post! You’ve written down some great thoughts here and you are absolutely right…we need to check facts before we publish AND retweet. I see a lot of foolishness get retweeted constantly. Thanks for being a voice of reason!
This comment was originally posted on Meryl.net
ptamaro said,
RT @mattsingley Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) http://bit.ly/7YMRP5
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imadnaffa said,
Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) #sm http://is.gd/6KJBK
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jimlegge said,
RT @imadnaffa: Social Media Responsibility, Fact Checking (and Racism!) #sm http://is.gd/6KJBK
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Meryl said,
@Fred, I believe you’re right that speed is what has caused this problem. Being first has become more important than being accurate. Not good.
@Avil, thanks for the great tips and pointing to your blog entries. I am sure others will appreciate it as much as I do.
@Davina, of course we all have folks that we feel we can trust all of the time. I didn’t want to put that in the post for fear the important message would get cluttered.
@George, and many writers fear for their careers because of this. But I believe over time people will return to what’s important: accurate and unbiased reporting (aside from those who get paid to do opinion pieces).
@Matt, thanks for posting the story. I was very surprised by it and felt we all need a reminder. As a writer, I would not do readers justice if I didn’t check my facts.
This comment was originally posted on Meryl.net
cbrown035 said,
RT @mattsingley: Last week I wrote about the need to check facts http://bit.ly/7JUMjA This week @GuyKawasaki does too http://bit.ly/60D5yX
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
BookBuzzr said,
I think Social Media Responsibility applies everyone and everything. What about you? via @mattsingley http://bit.ly/csA5aV
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
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