I found out yesterday that someone mistakenly posted wrong info about an event. The posts were shared on Facebook and Instagram, where they reached thousands of followers. The posts were online for around an hour before they were corrected. The comments posted were anywhere from comical to sarcastic.
It reminds me of the time when I was a social media specialist handling multiple online communities. I made a mistake in posting similar to this. The difference was that I received the content from my boss and took it as correct and cleared for diseemination. After posting, I checked the post and then realized that there was a mistake in the date. It was officially taken down after 5 minutes but had already reached thousands of views.
In the days of traditional media, a simple erratum announcement would have solved it. But on social media, that may never be seen if duplicated. Consequences can happen in just minutes or seconds.
Looking at that experience and tying it with the public service weather alerts we've been receiving lately, it is of utmost importance that messaging and accuracy are strictly observed.
Given this message is automatically received by millions of mobile users on their phones, I see how important the role of that person in charge of disseminating the information is. It's just as important as the people deciding what the message would be.
Since social media platforms are also heavily used to disseminate information and can also trigger discussions, it's the social media manager's responsibility to see what kind of feedback, sentiment, or opinion is out there. It made me realize how much responsibility I had at that time.
I'm glad I'm back to being a receiver of news rather than the sender.
- Saturday, September 05, 2026
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