Misinformation, Threats, and Bans: How Wellfleet ‘Lost the Peace’ Online

WELLFLEET — The moderators of the town’s most popular online forum — the “Wellfleet Community Space,” a private Facebook group in which only the 12,300 admitted members can see what is posted — have implemented new guardrails in recent weeks to stop the spread of misinformation and lower tensions after receiving threatening messages, according to the group’s three administrators, Jessica Larsen, Farrukh Najmi, and Mike Davis. Jessica Larsen is one of three Wellfleet Community Space administrators. (Photos by Agata Storer). All three said in separate interviews on April 26 that posts from a vocal minority of users about two housing projects in town — the recently completed Lawrence Hill apartments and the planned development of Maurice’s Campground — have “inundated” the Community Space group with half-truths and personal attacks. To curtail “anger, suspicion, and misinformation,” the moderators removed seven users, including county commission candidate Eric Schwaab of Barnstable, and changed the site’s settings so that every post needs approval from one of the three administrators before it can go live. The Wellfleet Community Space was created in 2013 and typically gets more than 600 posts per month that run the gamut from local bird sightings to recommendations for “reasonably priced
Read More