[thread] I want to talk about telling the truth in the social media age. I hope people take this for what it is: an attempt at constructive criticism, not calling out anyone. I’m a firm believer of the value of learning from our mistakes, but it has to start with honesty. (1/9)

In the last 24 hours, many people whom I call political allies have understandably jumped on a story doing the rounds about MPs expenses. The version circulated on social media was compelling & touched a raw nerve, which goes right back to the expenses scandals of 2009/10. (2/9)

The 10k story was created by a combination of incompetent PR, a media which doesn’t respect detail or accuracy & a social media shitstorm. However, that narrative of MP greed, while it suited a lot of interests & tapped into justified public anger, was false in this case. (3/9)

Some people seized on a secondary story about @jeremycorbyn refusing the 10k, returning the money & being the hero of the piece. I’ve no doubt that if that has been an option, Jeremy would have done exactly that, but it wasn’t & the whole thing had been fabricated. (4/9)

I’m not surprised people on the left jumped on the JC narrative. There was palpable anger at the original expenses story & here was a chance to prove that not all MPs are the same. But no one checked the source, which was in fact a satirical account that simply made it up. (5/9)

Sometimes things aren’t simple. They need to be checked out, researched. As trade unionists, we should always look at how things affect workers; as socialists, we should make sure we’re not the victims of our opponents spin. And always, we must try to act with integrity. (6/9)

The left have to be better than believing 2nd/3rd hand versions of the truth, filtered through the right wing press & various social media chancers. I know it’s hard, but we have to be better than Cummings & co. Our integrity, as socialists, is more important than that. (7/9)

If we don’t, whatever affirmation we get through likes & shares will be meaningless, because they will be followed by a cynicism from the public about who we are & what we believe in. Like the boy who cried wolf, the next time we tell the truth, they won’t believe us. (8/9)

Our integrity is valuable. It means that, even on social media, we have to take a min or two, not just to check whether something is getting wide reach, but whether it is sourced & credible. If we care about the future of the left, we’ll take those extra minutes to do that. (9/9)