Combating falsehoods
Facebook is abuzz with frustration and indignation right now as the 68th Wyoming Legislature works through bills in Cheyenne as people weigh in with the latest falsehoods, misinterpretations and occasionally a
few facts.
It is likely that each and everyone of us have encountered all three types of reactionary reporting on the legislature, and while it is easy — and often entertaining — to indulge in online forums and consume a wealth of unverified information from social media, it is important to make sure you are following that information up with your own research.
It is easy to believe everything you read on social media, but these platforms have been around long enough that none of us should consume it in ignorance, especially when it can be just as easy to do a little digging through verified sources to confirm whether or not the last post you “Liked” was true.
For example, an online group calling out Legislators for voting against conservative bills claimed that JD Williams, R-Lusk, had voted against a particular bill, but a quick look at the Wyoming Legislature website proved that was false. Fortunately, some people did dig a little deeper, and called out the falsehood inthe comments.
As far as we can tell, the post has since been removed but it goes to show how easy it is to come across bad information on social media, and how ignorant it is to spread it without confirmation.
We hope to see the Weston County community continue to participate in the Legislature by communicating on social media but hope they collect information by other means as well. Thanks to modern technology, it really is pretty easy to do.
We encourage our readers to visit wyoleg.com for up-to-date information on bills, voting records and a schedule of events, and you can view the debates live on the Wyoming Legislature’s YouTube channel, or view them later at your convenience.
We also encourage you to take a look at more in-depth coverage of the legislative session by visiting the Wyoming News tab on our website, newslj.com.