While Twitter can be used for good, unfortunately in the case of Bangkok’s current flooding situation, in some cases Twitter is doing nothing but causing more panic as irresponsible people, who think it’s fun to spread every rumour about ‘floods’ in Bangkok, tweet lies with little regard for how it may affect other people.
People already worried enough about Bangkok’s floods and in danger of losing their homes.
Over the course of today, we at Tasty Thailand have spent around an hour, during various times of the day, reading Twitter tweets #ThaiFloodEng,, in an effort to find useful information about latest flooding news.
Let’s just say, other than tweets from a handful of people, it is litle but irresponsible people tweeting and retweeting every rumour they have heard and every “new road flooded” while they sit staring at their computer screen with no more clue about what’s flooding than what they read on Twitter a minute ago.
Today, we have seen tweets saying it’s flooding in the Central Ladprao area, with “water coming so fast it will soon be in downtown”. Except, so far, there isn’t a drop of water in sight.
Some people are also talking about flooding “coming soon” to Kaset Sart, Chatuchak, and the Ladprao area of the city and others talking about how “all 50 districts may be flooded today”.
If any of these tweets were actually true, the water would be coming at the force of a tsunami, at least as big as the one in Japan. Last we checked we didn’t get tsunamis in Bangkok and, if we did, they sure as heck don’t come from the north.
Seriously, check yourself.
After all, nobody is saying northern Bangkok will not flood. However, to report it has already happened due to a rumor on Twitter is stupid.
Thais all over Bangkok are worried about possible flooding, and particularly those who live in one-storey houses or near klongs. These are people’s lives and livelihoods you are messing with while you tweet your gossip about places in Bangkok being flooded; people you are causing unnecessary pain.
People who, in many cases, if it does flood, will lose everything they own and will have no money to replace it.
Tweeting gossip and lies on Twitter about areas of Bangkok “flooding” is incredibly irresponsible, bordering on criminal and, honestly, didn’t your parents teach you any better?