Murphy’s Logic: Public institutions allow misinformation

It has more than 2,000 years since Aristotle postulated that nature abhors a vacuum; that empty spaces are always filled. Modern science has since found exceptions to the rule in nature. But where human nature is concerned, there are no exceptions when it comes to information.

In this age of instant communication through social media – any vacuum of accurate information is quickly filled with theories, speculation and lies.

The case of Catherine, Princess of Wales is a tragic example of this. In the absence of official, reliable, detailed information about her recovery from surgery, outrageous and hurtful speculation about marital affairs filled the void. The princess brought it all to an end with her courageous and poignant statement about her cancer diagnosis.

There are other local examples of what happens in an information vacuum.

The absence of official, reliable, detailed information during the Nova Scotia mass murders may have cost human lives.

After a young school child tragically died of a strep A infection in Dartmouth, N.S., a few weeks ago, the regional centre for education deferred public comment for several days. But stories about the incident burned through social media like wildfire, spreading fear instead of guidance.

Most public institutions have professional communications officers, but they are often unwilling or unable to provide the public with relevant and reliable information in a timely fashion. They often hide behind the concept of protection of privacy to defend secrecy.

One gets the sense they are more concerned about managing or massaging a message than providing the facts, and that is what allows misinformation and disinformation to fill the vacuum of their own creation.