Between political discussions frequently turning into contentious arguments and the spread of fictitious, sensational narratives passed off as factual news stories, Facebook has not recently been lauded as a place for constructive civic engagement.
The world's most-used social network is taking steps in attempt to correct that. In addition to launching tools to help users identify untrustworthy or factually incorrect articles in their news feeds, Facebook last month unveiled a new feature in the "explore" section called Town Hall.
The basic premise of Town Hall is to connect people with the elected officials who represent them, from city councils to Congress. If a user has his address provided to Facebook, Town Hall will search the social network for the official accounts of the representatives at the local, state and federal levels and encourage people to connect with them.
Politicians who represent the area say they're all for it. Reps. Charlie Davis, R-Webb City, and Bill White, R-Joplin, said their offices receive multiple calls and emails from constituents, sometimes dozens or more, on a daily basis as it is, but both welcome the opportunity to further discussions.
"I try to be the most accessible representative the state has ever seen, whether it’s by going to events in the community, whether it’s putting my cellphone number on my state card," Davis said. "I think its important because when I ran in 2009 for the 2010 election, one of my big points I had was to rebuild the trust between the constituents and their elected officials."
White said he is commonly reached on Facebook Messenger and personally reads and responds to those messages.
"I’m great with that," he said of Town Hall. "It’s more frustrating when you get a form letter, when you get 100 form letters, and it depends on the program that people do it, a lot of times people set it up and have a specific point of view and it says ‘hit the button,’ and it sends it to a legislator. If we get something that’s a little more personalized, it registers a lot more with us. Anything that highlights that people can contact us is fine. I’m not at all unhappy with that."
Missouri's U.S. Senators also praised the effort.
"I always appreciate hearing from Missourians, and the easier it is for them to keep in touch, the better," Sen. Roy Blunt said in an emailed statement. "I hope this new feature will encourage even more people to reach out on Facebook and share their views on the issues they care about."
“Holding myself accountable to Missourians is one of the most important parts of my job," Sen. Claire McCaskill said in a statement. "I think it’s great that more and more folks are looking to ensure their voices are heard, and new tools are helping make that process easier. But at the end of the day, there’s no replacement for face-to-face interaction with the folks who elected me — that’s why I keep traveling the state holding public town halls, and I’d encourage all elected officeholders to do the same.”
If an elected official has provided the channels on their Facebook page, users can call, email or message him directly from Facebook. Users have to manually navigate to the Town Hall page, but another aspect of the program will be visible even in the basic news feed. If a user interacts with the post of an elected official he follows, a message will appear and provide the user with ways to contact the representative, then share a post on his page saying he did so.
"Building a civically engaged community means building new tools to help people engage in a thoughtful and informed way," Facebook chairman, CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post announcing the feature. "The starting point is knowing who represents you and how you can make your voice heard on the decisions that affect your life."
Town Hall will also include a feature that reminds users of state and local elections. Facebook has used top-of-feed election reminders on national election days since 2008 but hasn't previously placed the same reminders for other elections.
"The more you engage with the political process, the more you can ensure it reflects your values," Zuckerberg's post continued. "This is an important part of feeling connected to your community and your democracy, and it’s something we’re increasingly focused on at Facebook."
The election day reminders will be utilized for all state, county and local primaries, and elections in areas of the country with populations of more than 10,000.
———
©2017 The Joplin Globe (Joplin, Mo.)
Visit The Joplin Globe (Joplin, Mo.) at www.joplinglobe.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
