When it comes to social media, are some more equal than others?

Avatar
Written by Nikki Peters

By Rebecca McLeod

When it comes to social media, are some more equal than others?

There’s nothing new or exciting about observing that we’re all publishers now; that the power of traditional media organisations has been diluted; and that “people-power” can rule on social media.

But what does that mean?  Are we all equal in our responsibilities to fair and accurate reporting?  Is it fine for any one of us to sound off on any subject that pushes our buttons at any particular time?  And are some of us more responsible than others?

This final question, about whether our responsibilities are equal in the online world, has been plaguing me recently.  Ever since I read a particularly disturbing blog by Louise Mensch.  I won’t replay it here, but if you’re interested you can check out my Twitter timeline for 10th June, and you’ll see the offending blog and  my conversation with Mensch about it.

The bigger question it raises for me, is whether Mensch needs to be more responsible when she blogs than someone with just a handful of followers.

Is it ok for someone with a powerful voice to talk about subjects they might just have a passing knowledge of?

Should the influential have to live by the rules of Uncle Ben from Spiderman (oh ok, and Franklin D Roosevelt) who said: ‘With great power, comes great responsibility?’

Are we living in a time when, instead of the “great and the good” having power to express any opinion they want, the little people can express, within reason, what they like.  And does this mean the big people have to watch their step?

Is the power dynamic of saying what we think, at least in terms of how free we feel, being turned on its head? After all, anyone can, for want of a better term, “call-out” anyone else on their opinions via social media.

I don’t claim to have all or any of the answers to these questions. I guess for now we all have to live by our own judgements, and hope that’s enough.  But the ones that survive the judgement of the social media jungle, however powerful, will be the ones who: listen, engage, respond and evolve.

Why every organisation should be thinking about the circular economy  

Imagine a world where every product is repaired, recycled or refurbished at the end...

More information

Revving Up for a Sustainable Future: Why We Must Challenge Rishi Sunak’s Backtrack on Net Zero

As Climate Week in New York concludes, we find ourselves at a critical juncture...

More information

Apple’s Sustainability Video: A Storytelling Triumph with Gaps in Green Commitment

Apple’s latest sustainability video, featuring CEO Tim Cook and actress Octavia Spencer, has sparked...

More information

Taking A Stand with Nazim Valimahomed, Founder and Chief Product and Design Officer at Kroo.

Each month we’re sitting down with the trailblazers who are making a difference at...

More information

Celebrating success: Stand celebrates double victory, winning two PR awards

We’re delighted to share that our PR efforts secured us not one but two...

More information

We can’t afford to ignore migraine in the workplace

Do you work with someone who experiences migraine? Chances are, you do – you...

More information

Taking A Stand with James Rutter, Chief Creative Officer at COOK.

Each month we’re sitting down with the trailblazers who are making a difference at...

More information

The future of payment – the revolution of mobility technology

Phasing out petrol and diesel cars and introducing EVs is a great option in...

More information

Claire Brady on Net Zero Hero Podcast

Some people think that ‘circularity’ simply means recycling, but it is so much more...

More information

Earth Day

Earth Day provides an opportunity to take stock of our progress towards addressing the...

More information

When it comes to making sustainability claims, getting it wrong can cost organisations the earth

According to Robin Hicks, “2022 was the year that policymakers started to take greenwashing...

More information

Less is more: How low alcohol brands are targeting their Gen Z consumers

Dry January may be over, but giving up alcohol definitely hasn’t gone out of...

More information

Beyond B Corp: Breaking up with Barclays 

Last year we became a certified B Corp, and to do so we had...

More information

Three takeaways from the IPCC’s ‘final warning’ report 

This week has seen the release of the latest IPCC report assessing the climate...

More information

Why we’ve introduced a 4.5 day working week

As the rulebook of the working week gets rewritten, at Stand we continue to...

More information

Stand shifts as we move into our second decade

I founded Stand with one simple (but typically ambitious) belief: that good comms can...

More information

So… has the pandemic set us back or propelled us forward?

Last week, just days after the restrictions in England were lifted, we hosted our...

More information

Wellbeing is not a one-size-fits-all approach

It’s safe to say that being plunged into multiple lockdowns across the past 18...

More information

Covid-19 has given us a harsh lesson in education inequality

Although ‘Freedom Day’ is here, Covid’s effects will, as we hear all too often,...

More information

The pandemic of inequalities

Last week, the Health Foundation’s Unequal pandemic, fairer recovery report made headlines, revealing that...

More information

Has the pandemic set us back 50 years, or will it propel us forward?

At its onset, Covid-19 was described as the great leveller. But the pandemic has...

More information