SPECIAL REPORT: Social media and the future of news

There is no doubt social media has changed the way we communicate. It is also changing the way people get their news, and fight crime.

New community groups on social media can catch a crook, but they can also get you charged with a crime if you post false information that endangers the public.

Whether you are on a computer or a smart phone, you can be a few clicks away from showing thousands what you saw or heard.

“I think it’s like a faster way than newspaper or ‘the news’ like on TV because you’re getting it right there, other people can report,” said Barbara Schell, a Salinas resident.

“I created it so people can be aware of their surroundings, of criminal activity happening in the area,” said Angela Dorado, the founder and admin of the Crime Watch Salinas group on Facebook.

Dorado created the Crime Watch Salinas group page in 2016 after her husband James was murdered in February that year. There are about 25,000 people in the group today.

“I was only assuming that it would actually just be about 4,000 members,” she said. “I did not think it would blow up as big as it did.”

You have to join the group first on Facebook. From there, you can see posts and contribute yourself, much like your own Facebook News Feed.

Posts range from traffic accidents and lost dogs to more serious crimes like possible shootings. Members can offer testimonials or speculate in the comments section.

This kind of instantaneous, eyewitness, social journalism is a relatively new trend.

“Something is interesting about more citizens being involved in participating and going to the media and commenting and engaging, it’s positive. The participation aspect is positive,” said Dr. Estella Porras, an assistant professor of journalism and media studies at California State University Monterey Bay.

Porras says traditional news organizations like KION can only benefit from these community interactions.

“There needs to be much more attention of media practitioners actually looking and searching and engaging with the citizens’ concerns and ideas,” she said. “So that’s healthy, that’s healthy for local media, that really creates a partnership there.”

That partnership between the community and the media has produced stories that would have otherwise been missed. Looking through social media is what many of KION’s staff do every day.

It is not just the Crime Watch Salinas page, there are over 50 Facebook pages and groups on the Central Coast to check out. And that is not including everything on Twitter.

Social media is a useful tool, but it is not without its flaws. Misinformation and fake news is widespread, and that could be dangerous.

Back in 2016, a man fired several shots in a Washington D.C. pizza restaurant, saying he was investigating claims on social media relating to the Democratic Party. In fact, those claims were part of the widely discredited conspiracy theory known as “Pizzagate.”

Making false claims online that could endanger the public is a serious issue for Salinas police.

“Now if during the investigation, we determine that this information is false or a bogus call, then we’re crossing the threshold, then it becomes a crime,” said Miguel Cabrera, the public information officer for the Salinas Police Department.

For their part, the Crime Watch Salinas page requires group admins to review posts to the news feed before they are published. This helps prevent misinformation.

“We check our sources the best we can. We don’t allow fake websites like The Onion, you know,” said Dorado. “It has to be something that’s credible, it has to be KION, something that we’re familiar with.”

That need for credibility means traditional media still has a future.

“News organizations have the duty and the responsibility to verify, to make sure that the information that is posted there…is credible,” said Porras.

Because in the ever-changing age of social media, facts still matter.