Editorial: Calm heads needed in Urlingford discussion

The time is now for calm heads and honest, open, constructive conversation in Urlingford, where a war of words has threatened to boil over in recent days.

The local community are entitled to air the full spectrum of their views, and those in possession of the facts are entitled to make them known in good faith.

What is clear is that there are a handful of bad actors who are wilfully ignoring or misconstruing facts. They are exploiting people’s concerns — and in some cases, their biases and gullibility.

We are in a dangerous place where any mouthpiece with a phone or wifi connection can instantly broadcast their views to the masses. We see it where so-called campaigners and self-styled journalists run amok on social media, spewing all manner of half-baked conspiracy theories, right-wing propaganda and plain old-fashioned made-up nonsense. The facts don’t matter; clicks and engagement don’t discriminate.

A crackpot who is met with ridicule or pity in real life now has their opinion shared by algorithms, bots and far-flung like-minded extremists. There is no editor or supervisor to correct and check facts. Mistruths routinely go unpunished without retraction, correction and apology.

People with no training in media, law or anything else can propagate their misguided message, and the consequences can be severe. Not only can it be damaging to the people smeared and maligned, it divides communities. It turns neighbours against one another, polarised and split along imaginary lines.

This current ‘not welcome’ and ‘burn it all’ narrative endangers homes, businesses and people’s lives. To date, a number of properties in other counties have been damaged, some which were being lined up to accommodate homeless people, others that were the subject of falsehoods. No one wants to see that spreading.

Let’s take a breath, and listen to one another. A bit of patience and basic common sense would go a long way to avoiding more harm.