Explore the video provided and reflect on the themes and questions below by reflecting on how you would curate your social media with a critical public audience.

Identify the risks and benefits of engaging with a public audience in a media space – what are the risks for a public figure or person in a position of trust (educator, lawyer, government official)?

Sophie Lui explained that from her experience as a journalist for GlobalBC, she believes that without the public audience on social media, the general public wouldn’t see the challenges faced by the journalism business. However, having easier ways to communicate with one another, including public faces, means there is less effort that has to be put into saying something mean to someone else.

Further your thoughts by exploring how employers use social media policy to hire, terminate or suspend individuals who use social media inappropriately or contrary to employer expectations – how would you address negative replies and critiques reflective of your personal values and employer social media policy? Can you provide notable examples?

Sophie Lui shared a story about how someone sent her a comb in the mail, because at the time her hairstyle was one that people either loved or hated. Now it is much more easy to communicate with public faces. Sophie explained that sometimes people will say “idiotic stuff” and that although sometimes she doesn’t care, other times some insults can really be taken to heart.

Also being a public figure means you have to be careful what you post as some things can be controversial, even to the extent of being something you could lose your job for. Sophie said she has had to refrain from saying things because of the way people could react, and she does stop herself before posting certain things on twitter. Having accounts associated with your job, as is common for notable individuals, means there is a limit to what you should and shouldn’t be posting on that account, or even what you should or shouldn’t be posting online in general, since although people can have alternate accounts, there is the possibility they could end up being linked later on in the public eye, and depending on what is posted that the public typically wouldn’t see, this could result in job termination.

Even jokes should be taken seriously to an extent. Although this story doesn’t focus on a public figure, it’s one that I never forget, as it is a joke that shouldn’t have been done, especially on public social media.

A 14-year-old girl once tweeted a post aimed at American Airlines, claiming that she was in fact a man from Afghanistan who was a part of Al Qaida and was “going to do something big”. Although it was evident by the fact that her twitter showed that she was a girl named Sarah, tweets like this should always be taken seriously. With that in mind, American Airlines responded and said they take this very seriously and sent her information to the FBI. She immediately regretted this was arrested for “posting a false or alarming announcement”.

This story is an extreme scenario, but it did happen. With that in mind, it’s always important, no matter what the joke may be, to consider your audience. For public faces, your audience is very broad. Although you can’t please everyone, it’s important that you don’t offend your general audience or say anything that could be seen as a threat or unfair breach of another person’s privacy.

 

●  How do notable individuals use social media?

Depending on the social media application, notable individuals use it in different ways. In Sophie Lui’s experience, she uses twitter to retweet other’s posts that she agrees with or has something to say about. These posts often express her views on politics or ongoing issues in the world. For instance, she has been frequently retweeting info about the BC elections and does her own posts discussing the importance of voting. She also retweeted a tweet from Kamala Harris, who said she would fight for women’s rights, as there is an ongoing issue in the United States regarding pro-choice and pro-life, a topic which really shouldn’t be up for debate as these are essentially either controlling women’s decisions or giving them the freedom to choose how they live their lives.

Sophie’s instagram has a great contrast from her twitter. She explained in her interview that her audience on instagram is far less critical of her posts there than her audience on twitter is on her tweets. Although she does post about ongoing events in the world, like her occasional posts reminding people to be safe during this pandemic, she also posts pictures of her everyday life, including time with friends and family. One of my favourite posts she made recently was showing off a drawing that a child drew for her.

●  What are the benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN? (career development in the public eye)

Being in the public eye and having a learning network means you have a larger audience, which also means you can connect with people who could benefit your career or give you insights on things you agree with or insights that lead you to change your view on the world. You may even find potential employers through social media.

Sophie Lui said she found many like-minded writers on twitter and follows many people on twitter so she can have more insight on relevant information related to ongoing events in the world. As a journalist, having access to the differing opinions of the public allows for more insights that could either justify your thinking and views on ongoing events, or could have a major impact on your views, which allows you to develop more insights that may be beneficial in journalism.

●  Delivering information in a connected society requires verifiable resources, how does one build a PLN that can be consistently relied on? How do those, who are veteran storytellers, minimize risk in sharing misinformation?

It is the individual user’s responsibility to choose who to trust online. If someone spouts false information, that can be fact-checked by doing your own research on the topic using trusted, unbiased resources.

Hirst (2019) explains that although it has existed in the past, “fake news” has become extremely relevant ever since the term became popularized by Donald Trump (although let it be known that just because he claims anything against him to be fake news, it is entirely possible and has been proven that he makes false statements, as well). Believing in a select few sources without fact-checking statements means you may share false information and therefore lose credibility. There is a chain of credibility when it comes to public figures and sharing information. Let’s say you find a news article spouting false information. Many people may realize that this news is incorrect and therefore that news source is no longer deemed a credible resource. But let’s say you choose to believe it and then share statements that were shared from that source. As a result, the public may either believe false statements that you share, or they may see you as not being credible anymore. With this in mind, public figures should be mindful of what they share and make sure the statements are properly fact-checked.

 

References:

EDCI 338 (2020, Oct 21). A01 Lui, Sophie [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T4jOdKd12I&feature=youtu.be

Hirst, M. (2019). The Political Economy of Fake News. In Navigating social journalism: A handbook for media literacy and citizen journalism (pp. 78-100). New York, NY: Routledge.