City to address inaccuracies on social media sites

The city of Dyersburg announced last week that it will begin dispelling some of the inaccurate statements on local social media forums. Dyersburg Mayor John Holden says that he recognizes that the younger generation in the community is more focused on social media and while he wants to continue to respect citizens' free speech and opinions, he would like to correct inaccuracies about city operations, programs and policies.

"The city's posts will focus on facts," said Holden. "The city will not enter into debates and the responses will only relate to the question in hand."

Holden says that he realizes that these community forums will not be going away anytime soon. However, he would like to correct the misinformation that is often generated by rumors or misinterpretations. He says the city will appear on the local forums with the identification "Dyersburg PIO".

The move is just one of many ways the city has begun to use technology to disseminate information to the community. Earlier this year the city launched a Facebook page, which currently has over 600 followers. In addition, the bimonthly board meetings can be viewed on the city's YouTube site and other advances such as 311 help open the lines of communication between city hall and citizens.

"We just want to provide accurate information to our citizens and this is one more way we can do that," said Holden.