IT has been an exhausting week for the majority of us, I am sure of it. It was and still is an emotional roller coaster. Many of us, including myself, were not at the forefront at what happened along the East Coast over the past week for varying reasons. I, for one, am from the county of Berbice. With that said, even if we weren’t physically there to witness what was happening, I am sure you saw many live videos, commentaries, pictures or articles about the past week’s events. There was civil unrest. As I was scrolling through social media, I came across informative posts that were shared about the day’s events while simultaneously coming across misinformation or insensitivity being shared as well. What puzzled me the most is that much of the misinformation or insensitive comments were made by “influential people” in Guyana.

Whether that influence is good or bad, we still need to acknowledge the fact that there is a growing number of persons who amassed a solid online presence, and they can influence their audiences to an extent with their words, thoughts or overall content. These are people who accumulated thousands of followers on social media. Some of them are even household names within our country. Their audience reach is of all demographics, wide and far across Guyana. However, still a selected few chose to share misinformation or insensitive comments on social media. There were memes, reels and Tik Tok videos either making a mockery of the civil unrest or conveying false information about the entirety of the situation. It was quite sad to witness, but it’s even more upsetting to know that this was and probably always will be an issue amongst “influencers” on social media. I’m writing this to remind you all that not every influencer or content creator has their audience’s best interests at heart.

While they should be held accountable for their role in spreading misinformation or insensitivity, we should also hold ourselves in the same regard to know and do better. We should be able to follow and view content from responsible and accountable creators in our country for our own sake. The lot just wants to build their followings by any means necessary. There are genuine influencers at bay. We just need to recognise them and encourage them to continue the good work that they do. The power of misinformation is evident in the events of last week. It’s sad to see how some people utilise their social media page, especially when they know the power of the said platform they hold. Nonetheless, we owe it to ourselves to do better. I don’t think we can ever stop people from saying what they want, when they want and where they want, but we can still ensure that the information we share on our pages, the articles we read or the pictures we interact with are sensitised and accurate. Even on a regular day or season, we should be mindful of what we choose to share or view on social media. We should also be able to let people of influence know when they are in the wrong and what they can do to improve their content—even if it makes you the least liked person online. Freedom of speech is given to all of us as a human right, but freedom is not without responsibility and accountability.