Facebook Facts? Tweeting Truths?: Verifying the Veracity of Viral Politics?

Rumour and gossip have always been part of political life. The pages of history are littered with incidents where rumours and half-truths have changed the political landscape. New technologies, concomitant applications and the rise of the citizen journalist have exponentially increased the scope, reach and spread of such rumours. Viral messaging is maturing and we will give examples of how rumour based video clips made by individuals have affected government and political life. We will also examine the rise of social networks as alternative spaces for political discourse. How are governments and politicians to respond? The recent pedophilia scandal in British politics and the use of social media, Twitter in particular, to spread the gossip has brought the issue of journalistic ethics to the fore. Government and democracy thrive on trust. The advent of 24 hour news and 24 hour politics places great pressure on institutions and individuals to manage their own image via structured information outputs. Rumour rebuttal is a key component of a successful campaign. This paper questions the root of our information sources. Social media has allowed rumour and gossip to take on new lives. Information can be spread (globally) at the click of a mouse. The danger, of course , is that there is no form of journalistic ethics or standards applied to such communication and this leads to a rise in misinformation. Journalists are forever on the hunt for a novel and exciting story, on occasion the source is the Internet and their verification of the story is debatable. We aim to explore the impact this has on government and democracy and stress the important of due diligence by journalists and society alike. Misinformation is a political tool like any other, and it's use must be carefully considered by all.