Vitriolic rhetoric, ‘fake news,’ personal attacks prompt bulletin board change
By Marcy Stamper
The pitched emotions and so-called fake news that engulfed the country during the often-vitriolic election campaign have generated enough soul-searching to prompt a policy change at the Methownet.com bulletin board (www.methownet.com/bulletinboard.html).
On Nov. 18, under the heading of “Taking Responsibility Online,” the Methownet owners and staff said:
“We’ve watched with concern as news reports have connected social media and links to false news stories to the uptick in divisive, volatile rhetoric in our country. We have concluded that our bulletin board is playing a role by allowing posters to anonymously cite so-called ‘facts’ and, in the name of free speech, use them to bully anyone who disagrees.”
As a result, Methownet changed the rules for discussions so that anyone posting an opinion must use his or her real name. People may no longer post links to other websites, and must use their own words and be civil.
The decision was precipitated not by any single event, but by what has been happening around the country, said Maria Converse, co-owner of Methownet.com. “People have become so extreme in their positions — they’re not having civil conversations,” she said.
Online comments and social media across the country have been turned up a notch or two, she said. “It’s a mirror of what we’ve seen in the country in general — ramping up over the course of the election, over the last 18 months,” said Converse.
Converse said she and co-owner Jeff Hardy were concerned that being a forum for uncivil postings meant they risked no longer being a positive force in the Methow.
Over the years, they have hosted all kinds of ideas and believe they have bent over backwards not to impose their own viewpoints, said Converse. The community of people who use the bulletin board in essence helped monitor the discourse by reporting inappropriate comments, she said.
Because they don’t have the staff or ability to vet all links, they also began to feel uncomfortable about links to other websites posted on their forum, Converse said.
Before they announced their decision, Methownet contacted the 10 most prolific users of the bulletin board, said Converse. Most were supportive of the decision and said they could abide by the new rules.
Support, criticism
Although more than 90 percent of their users were pleased with their decision, Converse acknowledged that the decision had made some people unhappy. “Any time you shut someone down, some people will come at you with fire and tongs,” she said.
Many people promptly followed up on the bulletin board with kudos for the decision and signed their names to their comments.
“WELL DONE AND THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” wrote Ronda Bradeen. In another post, Bradeen wrote, “They get to pick what is and is not allowed and I support their position on links and making an effort to curtail fake news and inflammatory postings and encouraging actual thoughtful discussion.”
“HOORAY HOORAY HOORAY. I am so thrilled to see this board maybe return to a civil fun filled and at times a place for lively debate. Thank you again,” wrote Judy Brezina.
“My opinion is that the importance of much that has been posted is in the mind of the poster,” wrote David Wilkinson.
As happens in an online discussion, the topic soon expanded. “When I first read this my first impression was that it was a good idea. Now I’m not completely sure. It is possible that some people have good reason for anonymity. They may be hiding from a violent ex-spouse or something. They may express opinions that although are reasonable inflame someone who disagrees and has a violent tendency,” wrote Gary Ott.
One person who was displeased with the new rules wrote an email to Methownet, the news media (including the Methow Valley News), the FBI and the CIA. “There is a rise in violent Leftwing extremism in America. This is especially true in the Methow Valley of Washington State, a Liberal bastion in mostly Conservative Okanogan County,” wrote the individual, under the name Cascade Climber.
The writer also suggested a new forum: “Looks like its time to start a new BB where truth prevails, not ‘fake news’ & pro Clinton propaganda!”
There are 6,800 registered users on the Methownet bulletin board, which has been running since 2000. To register, all people need is a working email address. The Methownet website — which has other features in addition to the bulletin board — gets about 3,000 visitors a day, said Converse.
‘Fake’ news
“We hear from enough people about how much they value the bulletin board, so we keep it going, but we can’t monitor it full-time,” said Converse. “We really appreciate the support we’ve received from the community.”
Addressing so-called fake news may be trickier than encouraging civil discourse. The ease with which information circulates online means that people can share and re-post articles until they take on a life of their on.
A report in the New York Times found that people as far away as the country of Georgia have fabricated news stories, primarily because they make money when people click on ads that appear on Google alongside searches for their stories.
The trend caught the attention of the Oxford English Dictionary, which chose “post-truth” as its word of the year. The dictionary defined it as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”
Even President Obama addressed the topic in a recent speech in Germany. “If we are not serious about facts and what’s true and what’s not — and particularly in an age of social media where so many people are getting their information in soundbites and snippets off their phones — if we can’t discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda, then we have problems,” he said.
“Because in an age where there’s so much active misinformation — and it’s packaged very well and it looks the same when you see it on a Facebook page or you turn on your television…. if everything seems to be the same and no distinctions are made, then we won’t know what to protect. We won’t know what to fight for,” said Obama.
Teachers are trying to help their students make these distinctions. “When teaching research in the context of history class, we talk about reliable sources and where information is coming from,” said Liberty Bell High School history teacher Scott Barber.
Barber encourages his students to question the source and find out who wrote and produced it, but he acknowledged that is becoming more difficult. “Everything is hyperlinked, with pieces of everything else, all mixed together,” he said.
Liberty Bell history and English teacher David Aspholm asks students to find multiple sources to back up information, and to ask questions about why they believe something is true. “You need to be vigilant and verify — you need several sources you trust. That’s about as good as you can do,” said Aspholm.
