Rumors Were Flying

I attended last week’s Government Communicator event hosted by Vocus and Capitol Communicator. The panelists were four senior communicators with extensive experience in the public sector.

The latter half of the discussion focused on the government agencies’ use of social media. All of the panelists agreed that social media is a necessary part of the public affairs job for all the usual reasons. However, the need to respond to false information that spreads quickly online often has bigger consequences for many government agencies.

Case in point, John Verrico, Science & Technology Spokesman, Department of Homeland Security, told a great story about a fraudulent rumor started last year that TSA was pursuing the purchase of safety bracelets that would be worn by all airline passengers. The bracelets would link passengers with their bags, and track passengers through security and onto the plane. The bracelets would offer the added bonus of allowing the stewardess to electronically shock the wearer (with the power of a Taser) should they become a security risk. The story was picked up by the Washington Times blog and FoxNews before it could be squashed by DHS and TSA.

These situations can quickly become out of hand, especially as mainstream media is increasingly willing to run stories that they admit are unsubstantiated in an effort to avoid being scooped.

While he did not have the opportunity to diffuse the story ahead of time, Mr. Verrico’s blog response allowed him to address it as quickly as possible (and with a slight touch of humor – love the title) that gave him the upper hand in the situation.

- Katie Hanusik