It’s part of my day job to advise on how to engage with social media. For the most part and for most institutions, it is a largely upbeat story. But for politicians, well, it often gets a little complicated.
It used to be that only our journalists got intense lobbying from party press offices. Now it’s as likely to come via the soft power of Twitter and Facebook.
So today, Mike Nesbitt, clearly getting a little exasperated with some corporate spin, posted this…
How true, all you who accused me of wanting public money for a Mosque in Belfast pic.twitter.com/jXIJkiaFqc
— Mike Nesbitt (@mikenesbittni) May 16, 2016
It’s a good quote. Goebbels was a consummate and professional liar who was sufficiently confident in his trade to let the truth slip about the reality of propaganda.
But in Northern Ireland, that’s offensive, apparently. When asked for a response the UUP press office said quietly…
“The point is people spread lies using social media.”
To which, and risking similar opprobrium for the near Nazi reference involved, the only proper response is…
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty