Column: Like Wildfire

Social media and the World Wide Web can be a great way to get important or relevant news out quickly. It's one of the boons created by the increasing relevance of technology in our daily lives. Just last week, I was able to use the Whitehall Ledger website to put out a breaking news story that a dinner had been rescheduled. It was convenient, and hopefully spread the word about the event.

On the same day, I was also able to witness firsthand the chaos web can create within a matter of moments.

I keep up with what's going on in my hometown through both social media and a variety of web sites. What started out as a normal day last Thursday, changed in a heartbeat shortly after lunchtime. An announcement was made by several local school districts that all of their schools and offices would be closing and students would be sent home for the remainder of the day. The local community college also sent students home and closed the campus.

The closures were in response to an email threat received by the Wyoming Department of Homeland Security. The email stated that there were bombs planted throughout the state, including 40 pipe bombs at unnamed schools. The email also mentioned that napalm had been placed in the sprinkler systems at numerous schools as well. The email went on to state that Wyoming would be 'turned to dust;. This is scary stuff and parents were rightfully in a panic. Hundreds made their way to schools to pick up their kids as word started to spread like wildfire on Facebook.

As a parent, I understand just how scary a situation can be, and I would have been frantically trying to get the kids as far away from the school as possible.

What also happened during this time was a rash of misinformation being spread all over the place. The rumors started to fly. There were plenty of them talking about bombs being found or what buildings had been targeted. This led to absolute chaos. Parents that were already scared out of their minds were delirious. Rumors that were completely untrue were spreading and it wasn't making things better. Hundreds had suddenly become their own news reporting agencies, sharing information that often times didn't even make sense. I read something to the fact of "Well my sisters boyfriend works with a guy, who knows a guy at Homeland Security, who said this was real." Really?

At the same time, some law enforcement agencies throughout the state were dispelling the email as a hoax, while others said they were still taking the threat seriously. Nobody seemed to be on the same page.

There seemed to be no answers, with one post contradicting another. I sat back and watched this unfold from a distance and was amazed what some people were saying.

After several hours it became very clear that there were no bombs, and there was no napalm in the schools. I'm sure everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was a hoax, but something that still sent shockwaves throughout the community. It was a scare that nobody wants to relive.

I applaud the local school districts for taking action. It's better safe than sorry. I am however soured by the way social media turned this into a mess. The amount of misinformation being spread did not make things any better. I hope it serves as a lesson for people to think about what they are posting and how it can actually make things worse.

This was a bad situation that got a little too crazy.

I hope this is a cautionary tale for my hometown friends that rumors don't help. In fact rumors are just stupid, but that's a column for another day.

I certainly hope we don't have to experience anything like this in Whitehall, but if it were to happen, I surely hope that it doesn't turn into a social media mess.

Facebook and other social media seems a lot easier to deal with when reading about someone getting married, a big hunting trip, or a vacation.

Heck, I much rather see what somebody had for breakfast than spread misinformation.