"We are not who we are"

This weekend pointed out another case of social media gone bad, and yet turned good.

Confused? So are the New Glasgow police. Apparently, they were blissfully ignorant that some erstwhile "fan" had assumed their identity to host a Facebook page called "New Glasgow Police Service." While it's not clear what the person's intention was -- public service or malfeasance -- the site featured posts of news stories about criminal matters around New Glasgow, along with more personal posts ("do you like our new ford truck").

When Amber Kirwan went missing, the site administrator, whoever they may be, undertook to be part of the solution... they began posting helpful details like "NOW SEARCHING THE EAST RIVER". Finally, they were called out and admitted that they were in no way affiliated with the NG Police Department, in one long unpunctuated run-on sentence.

The site has been taken down now, but it begs a few questions.

My first question was, how gullible are the public? Every post that wasn't simply a link was an uncapitalized, unpunctuated, poorly written run on sentence. A police department, even one in a small town in Nova Scotia, would surely hire a professional communicator to operate what could definitely be a risky venture!

A larger question for our consideration is, what social media presence is out there purporting to be one of us? If we are not monitoring, or even paying attention, how would we know? And even if the administrator of such a site is well-meaning, can they possibly properly represent us without our input?

Some post-Thanksgiving food for thought.

Note: 25 nerd points if you can cite the source for the title of this post.