WHAV Combats Spread of Misinformation in Local Media

In a significant shift reflecting growing concerns about the impact of social media on public discourse, local radio station 97.9 WHAV has announced a reduction in its social media presence, urging listeners to return to more traditional and reliable news sources.

The station is encouraging community members to recommend that their family and friends tune in to WHAV’s radio broadcasts or access its 24/7 live stream online. Additionally, the station is promoting its “Wavelengths eNewspaper” as an alternative source for “reliable, trustworthy and comprehensive reporting” in an era increasingly dominated by unverified social media posts.

WHAV has also called on elected officials to prioritize sending news directly to established media outlets like itself before posting to social media platforms, where information can spread without proper context or verification.

The station’s decision comes amid growing concerns about the role of social media in spreading misinformation and inciting public outrage. Drawing a parallel to a landmark legal precedent, WHAV cited U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’s famous 1919 opinion in Schenck v. United States, where he wrote, “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic.”

According to WHAV, today’s social media environment has created a digital equivalent of this scenario, with platforms owned by large conglomerates becoming vehicles for “dangerous misinformation, outrage, threats of violence and the like.”

This move by WHAV reflects a broader trend among traditional media outlets reassessing their relationship with social media. In recent years, many news organizations have become increasingly dependent on platforms like Facebook, Twitter (now X), and Instagram for audience engagement and traffic, only to find themselves vulnerable to algorithm changes and the spread of unverified information.

Media analysts note that local news outlets are particularly affected by these dynamics. While social media has provided unprecedented reach for small stations like WHAV, it has also created an environment where their carefully reported content must compete with sensationalism and unverified claims.

“Local news organizations are in a difficult position,” says Dr. Emily Harrington, a media studies professor at Northeastern University. “They need the audience that social media provides, but they’re also seeing how these platforms can undermine the very foundations of factual reporting and community trust that local journalism is built on.”

WHAV’s decision comes at a time when trust in traditional media institutions remains under pressure, with a 2023 Gallup poll showing that only 34% of Americans have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in mass media. However, local news outlets typically fare better in trust surveys than national media organizations.

For communities like those served by WHAV, the stakes are particularly high. Local reporting on municipal government, school committees, and community events provides essential information that rarely receives coverage from larger outlets, yet is vital for civic participation.

By emphasizing its radio broadcasts, livestream, and newsletter, WHAV is betting that quality and reliability will ultimately matter more to its audience than the convenience of social media distribution.

Whether other local media outlets will follow WHAV’s example remains to be seen, but the station’s move highlights the growing tension between traditional journalistic values and the realities of a digital media ecosystem that often prioritizes engagement over accuracy.

For now, WHAV is asking its community to reconsider how they consume news, suggesting that sometimes the most reliable information comes through channels that have stood the test of time.