Recently, a lot of things made the news because someone had posted videos or photos of an event onto social media that has been spread by the public. The ability to repost content on social media platforms makes us not just consumers of news or information, but also disseminators of news. This ability is a convenient tool for everyone to share information. There is no right or wrong in the tool itself. However, there is right or wrong to the user’s, which is us, motive or intention at the point of using such a tool, or even to the act of reposting itself. Many times, when we repost information, we do it because we thought it was just fun or funny with no bad intentions; we do not think of the consequences after the post becomes widely spread, or check if we have the right to spread such information. Last year, there were quite a few members of the public that were punished by the police for illegally spreading classified information about the government’s pandemic controls. Therefore, as a disseminator, sometimes we would also have to face legal consequences. As such, be careful of what information we are spreading. Recently, there has been a video of a lady plucking off a car plate making its rounds on the internet. Many did not understand her actions after viewing, much discussion ensued, discussing it as an anecdote. Some netizens began doxing her, intent on punishing the woman’s behaviour. First of all, our reactions as netizens are oftentimes too preconceived, jumping into a conclusion and even take action to shame the perpetrator without first understanding the context. Moreover, Singapore is a country ruled by law and there are various channels to resolve a conflict, we should not be punishing others self-righteously without the right to. In the end, the perpetrator filed a police report because she received too many unreasonable harassments. I believe those who first uploaded the video or photo did not anticipate that such a small event could explode to such proportion. This is not to say that uploading or reposting information is a bad thing. There is a video of a dog trainer abusing a dog going viral currently. This video exposed an incident of animal cruelty and enabled relevant agencies to act against the perpetrator, preventing more such incidents from happening. The netizens have done the right thing here by reporting the abuse to relevant authorities, and not being mere passers-by nor taking revenge on the perpetrator into their own hands.

Social media and the widespread dissemination of information on the internet are here to stay. Living in such an environment, we must be consumers and disseminators of information who are responsible, constructive, and able to distinguish between true and false. The Bible disapproves the dissemination of gossips or irresponsible speech and God is not pleased with such behaviours. “…Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity … They are gossips, slanderers … Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:28-32) When people around us are excitedly discussing or spreading all sorts of rumours from the internet, we should not participate as Christians. If we have an opinion, any comments should be based on constructive discussions, and should not be arbitrarily made speculations and judgments. Proverbs 10:19 also reminds us “Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.” Even though it seems that Proverbs only refers to remarks made through word of mouth, but its principles are similarly used on internet  remarks. Not only should we stop our mouths, we should also stop our fingers from sending information that we are not supposed to share. Otherwise, we can very easily commit the sin of spreading rumours. Just as the Chinese say, “the rumours stop with the wise”, when we receive any information from the internet, do not be quick to comment and repost, instead through a filtering process, we only pass on constructive information.

Due to human’s sinful nature, “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts” (Proverbs 26:22). We often prefer to hear rumours than constructive information. However, this is exactly where Christians are different from the world. “but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). Instead of spending time on rumours or silly things, we should spend it on more meaningful things. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29). Therefore, the messages we spread must be edifying. It does not mean that Christian cannot share jokes or funny content with others. Some of them can help to break the ice, or release tension, smoothen interactions between people. Among the messages that we disseminate, the content should include the gospel. Be it a picture with a Bible verse, or a video about apologetics, we can forward it. I pray that God will help us be a good messenger.                

translated by Davina Seet