Question: I’m frustrated by all the misinformation and downright lies about teachers, education and the ATA that keeps coming through my social media feeds. Why doesn’t the Association respond to these posts and set the record straight?
Answer: There’s a joke that has been making the rounds for a while: fighting with someone on social media is like wrestling a pig—you’ll both get filthy and the pig likes it.*
That captures the practical conundrum faced by individuals and organizations attempting to respond to inaccurate, untruthful social media commentary, particularly when its producers are bad actors who don’t care about accuracy, or who are motivated by their own agenda and ideological interests.
In determining whether and how to respond to a misleading social media post, Association communications staff first assess the nature of the post. Not every false claim needs a response, particularly if it has limited reach, is coming from a source with low credibility, is annoying rather than damaging or has little impact beyond a small, credulous audience. Sometimes, responding can amplify a post unnecessarily.
Another consideration is whether the Association needs to reply. There are many teachers and independent voices on social media platforms who are not afraid to reply to an offending post and, by virtue of being independent, their organic responses have considerable credibility. Frankly, in such cases, it is unnecessary and potentially counterproductive for the Association to add its two cents.
For better or worse, social media has become the preferred choice for information and opinion for a substantial majority of people.
Of course, this does not equate to surrendering social media spaces to trolls. For better or worse, social media has become the preferred choice for information and opinion for a substantial majority of people. Given this reality, the Association’s goal must not be to fight online misinformation, but to proactively build public credibility and trust in these spaces over the long term. This, in turn, can help inoculate public opinion against misinformation being advanced.
Fortunately, we come to this task with several significant advantages. First, what the Association and teachers are advocating for is understood and supported by the public. When we conduct public opinion polling, support for public education and for teachers is consistently strong. This is a source of real political power, and advocacy by and on behalf of teachers has been the impetus for recent government decisions to substantially increase funding for public education and to undertake initiatives to address class size, complexity and aggression. Our social media messaging, then, starts from a position of considerable strength.
Furthermore, in Canada, teachers are among the most trusted professionals in society. Public opinion polls consistently place teaching in the top tier of trusted occupations. The Association itself enjoys a high level of public confidence in its efforts to stand up for schools and students. So, the efforts made by the Association and individual teachers to communicate through social media are uniquely effective.
As well, social media still depends to a large degree on the traditional, mainstream media to provide its “feedstock.” Over decades, the Association has cultivated good relationships with media by being consistently available, transparent and, above all, truthful. Credible reporting by journalists and reporters telling teachers’ stories helps to inform and enlighten discussions that take place in social media.
Finally, the small team of communications professionals employed by the Association has had considerable success in the social media realm, with Association sites attracting over 45,000 Facebook followers and with a reach extending to 40.3 million. On Instagram, we have 31,000 followers and a reach to 1.3 million. We are also actively growing our presence on YouTube, LinkedIn and Bluesky. The recent decision by the Annual Representative Assembly to expand the team by 0.6 FTE will help to ensure that teachers’ voice and views continue to be heard on all relevant media and platforms.
* My apologies to pig-aficionados who will point out that pigs are intelligent, sensitive and meticulously clean animals.
ATA Executive Secretary
