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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think "community" Facebook pages shouldn't be campaign tools

2 replies

Keepapart2chevrons · 28/07/2018 12:17

There's a lot in the news today about large scale political campaigning on social media. This is a small scale local issue but probably one of many ...

Our small town has a "community" Facebook page run by an anonymous individual. It re-posts just about anything anyone sends it - lost cats, neighbourhood watch issues, store promotions, trader recommendations, etc, and has a few thousand followers. Most people in the area who have a Facebook account probably follow it. Obviously that gives the editor a certain amount of power.

The issue is that sometimes the editor uses the platform as a campaign tool. For example they endorsed a particular candidate in a recent election, and they take a strongly partisan line on some planning applications, putting out negative and often innacurate information and deleting comments from people who disagree. I know people who have tried to call them out for this, and they have been blocked from the page altogether.

Presumably FB page owners can operate whatever editorial policy they want, but given Facebook are trying to improve their reputation over this sort of thing AIBU to think there should be a code of conduct for community pages?

There's nothing wrong with Facebook pages being used for campaigning, but their status as a campaign should be clear in their name and description, otherwise people are potentially being manipulated.

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Jamforlunch · 28/07/2018 13:06

I wonder if you are in the same village as me! We have exactly the same. The demonisation of the existing local councillor and the rampant electioneering by another local candidate (standing for another party) was relentless.

Keepapart2chevrons · 28/07/2018 15:01

I expect it's a very common thing jamforlunch. Would be ok if the editor posted their partisan stuff under their own name, but to do it under the page name gives it greater prominence, and when he deletes all dissenting voices it makes it look like everyone agrees with him.

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