Social media can be a valuable tool to get a message out, but it can also prove to cause some problems during situations like the fires in northern Saskatchewan.
Karri Kempf is with Emergency Social Services. She says that social media has been a tremendous challenge.
“The more individual voices we have, the less chance that there’s consistent messaging and that we’ve rooted out any false messages,” said Kempf today. “It can start with the best of intentions, they want to spread the word, they want to check on their family, they want to give people reassurance of their home community.”
Kempf adds that many people giving information on social media could be getting their information second-hand.
“Or they’re not professionals capable of assessing the situation the way a professional would,” added Kempf.
To get correct information during this forest fire situation, she says you can check out the Government of Saskatchewan’s website or find them on social media.