I knew something was off when an out-of-town relative recently asked me if the Nelco Cineplex was leaving Greenville to relocate in Cleveland.
Thoroughly confused, I wondered how something like that could be happening and the first I hear about it is from someone who doesn’t even live in town.
When I asked where they heard this rumor, they said the City of Greenville shared it on Facebook.
Absolutely stunned, I grabbed my phone, opened the Facebook app and went directly to the city’s page.
No sign or mention of the movie theater. I scrolled for several minutes and still, nothing. I was truly puzzled. I thought, “Is this a joke?”
I asked my relative to show me what they had seen and when I looked at their screenshot, I immediately knew what the problem was.
The post was shared by a Facebook page named, “Greenville Of Greenville Jewel Of The Delta, Mississippi.”
Their post, shared Aug. 28, shows a picture of the Nelco and reads, “Before the Delta Democrat-Times reports the bleak news. We are moving to Cleveland. Good bye crime and hello Fighting Okra.”
It was a good thing no one could see my face because, as my mom would say, my eyes were rolling so hard they were about to pop out of my head.
For starters, the actual City of Greenville’s Facebook page is titled, “City of Greenville, Mississippi - Government” and has more than 7,800 followers. Aside from the fake page not even having the same name, it has less than 380 followers.
It only takes a few seconds of scrolling through the imitator’s page to realize it’s all a big hoax. Whoever created it obviously has a sense of humor that feeds off of making up fake news to belittle Greenville.
One post said two local McDonald’s had failed inspections; another said the Dodge’s Gas Station was closing; and another showed a picture of a school bus that had crashed into a house, claiming it was a Western Line School District bus.
Absolutely none of these posts are true, but sadly there are people who do believe them and are quick to click “share.”
I am a lover of good humor and anyone who knows me will tell you I’m quick to laugh at a good joke. These posts, however, are anything but funny because they are leading several people to believe something that isn’t true.
When people see these posts, it puts an unnecessarily bad taste in their mouth about the city. Is Greenville 100% perfect? No. But after living in cities from Idaho to Florida, one fact I can say with certainty: no city is.
City and county officials and several local organizations and businesses are working to help Greenville grow. Just this week, the new Tru by Hilton hotel opened its door for business. Coming down the pipeline, Nufarm Americas is building a new facility and a new federal courthouse is being established in downtown Greenville.
When we reported on the new courthouse and the new hotel, I was appalled at some of the comments coming from locals, many calling these endeavors a "waste of time of money."
The people of Greenville need to get out of this mindset and learn to support their community. Greenville has amazing potential and great things are currently happening, but more people need to get on board and stop trying to drag their own city down.
I’ll always support the First Amendment because I believe people should have the right to say what they want. While I may not like the posts being made by this fake Facebook page, I do encourage the poster to at least make it clear what they are saying is not true. The more these fake posts continue to spread, the more people will believe them and assume nothing positive is happening, when that simply is not the case.
Unfortunately in today’s era of social media, far too many people are quick to believe posts they read without verifying the facts.
When there is a post that seems strange or hard to believe, it’s fairly easy to verify the truth. Contact the local news, such as the Delta Democrat-Times, or simply reach out to the business at-hand and ask them directly.
When there is something positive announced about the community, remember to click “share” on those posts, too. A community relies on its people to make it thrive. Let’s do our part to make that happen.
Catherine Kirk is managing editor of the Delta Democrat-Times. She can be reached at ckirk@ddtonline.com.
