Social media is an amazing thing – a fantastic way for organizations like mine (see Minnesota Turkey Growers Association and the Chicken and Egg Association of Minnesota) to bring consumers closer to their food and to the farmers who raise their food. But it can also get me all worked up sometimes, even when I’m not in my office.
I was sitting at the kitchen counter eating breakfast on Saturday morning, perusing Facebook posts from overnight when I saw it. A ridiculous post that claimed that only 10% of eggs in grocery stores come from U.S. farmers and that we should be very wary about the “freshness” of the eggs we buy in stores.
I knew immediately the post was inaccurate (just ask my husband, who heard an earful!) and I set about responding, making sure I provided some good sources for my information. (The majority of eggs raised by U.S. farmers do, in fact, go to supermarkets and other markets, such as foodservice/restaurants, in the United States. The U.S. actually exports only a small percentage of our eggs to other countries and even less are imported into the U.S. from other countries. You can check with the American Egg Board and the United Egg Producers for additional information.)
After I double-checked my response to make sure it was factual and positive in nature, I hit ‘enter’ on my laptop to send it to Facebook world. Job well done, I thought to myself – and it’s not even 8:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning!
What’s cool about Facebook – and this new communications world we live in – is that someone else had caught that mistake as well and within just a few minutes of each other, both our responses were displayed. The Facebook friend who had originally shared the inaccurate statement immediately went about correcting herself and apologizing for not checking her facts initially. (She had gotten the statement from another Facebook page. Normally she double-checks everything she shares from other sources, but it was a busy week so she let this once slip. And hey, I think we can all relate to that. Things happen.) I truly wasn’t after an apology; I just wanted to share some facts and hopefully help a few people understand that eggs raised by U.S. farmers are delivered fresh to supermarkets around this country. But it was also a great reminder from my Facebook friend that whatever we see and read on social media may be someone’s version of their truth, but it may not necessarily be the whole story. I need to remember this so that what I share – either personally or through my organizations – is authentic and accurate to the best of my knowledge.
In this 24-7 fast-paced world of communication, it’s good to question messages and statistics, always. Do you have a specific thought process you go through before you share information/opinions on Facebook, Twitter or any of your other social media networks?