As I often say, I don’t spend much time on social media. I’m your dorky friend who has an inbox full of newsletters from think tanks. I was intrigued when I listened to a podcast last month about the trends in online discussions about public education, and specifically Trump’s effort to shut down the Department of Education.
I was fortunate to connect with Joe Drymala of the Disinfo Against Democrats/The Social-Political Podcast, and I asked him if he could apply his social listening analysis to New Jersey. Anecdotally I know how online discussions are influencing debates happening in some of our schools, and I thought it might be important to take an objective look at what that data tells us. More importantly, if we know discussions online are filling the void left in the wake local journalism dying off, then how can we participate or influence these discussions to combat misinformation and toxic rhetoric? How can we engage with these platforms in a productive way?
Joe was kind enough to take on this project and provide some charts for you to check out. Again, this is specific to New Jersey, but regardless of where you call home, I think it’s worthwhile for you to consider how you engage online. Where do you get information? Where is there an opportunity to speak up and offer a counter-narrative to disinformation or toxic rhetoric in your own community? Do you see toxic online arguments spill into your school board meetings? Are parents in your district aloof or engaged? If parents in your district are engaged, where do they get their information about what’s happening in your schools?
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