Reflection on Social Media Case 7: Anthony Weiner’s Post

Anthony Weiner made an epic mistake thinking that he could not only deny involvement in the illegal activity of distributing obscene material to a minor, but I am truly baffled that he thought that no one would ‘fact check’ him as the case study states. We live in a world of unlimited access to personal information about just about anyone we have an interest in googling.  Private information is highly publicized especially for government officials and celebrities.   Which is why it is almost comical that the congressman thought he could deny the accusations and be able to walk away without repercussions.

Ownership in social media scandal is of the utmost importance.  Had Congressman Weiner taken responsibility of his actions and came out on the defense he could have possibly saved his reputation and his position in congress. We have discussed this idea of telling your own side of the story in class several times.  Ethically it is definitely the right thing to do. If your name is slandered online it is up to you to put out the truth so that when the unfortunate event is called into question it is much easier to already have your stance on the matter put together.

The case also brings up the interesting point that if there is any mystery in a scandal people will not stop digging and trying to come up with their own answers to the unanswered questions.  Coming up with false accusations and horribly incorrect judgements.  The product of this is fake news stories and widespread opinion based articles published across social media platforms. This ability to dig for your own information is a double edged sword.  I believe that it is important to be able to do your own research to discern what it is that you believe about any given situation.  But it also has the power to mislead naive people into sharing incorrect information.