Fake Twitter video of looted Walmart store triggers fear in Fairfield
FAIRFIELD -- A video has gone viral in a tweet that says is a looting incident at a Walmart in Fairfield. As it turns out, it was a fake tweet but the damage had already been done.
As soon as the Fairfield Police Department found out about the tweet, it sent out a response on social media right away saying it was untrue. The problem was by that point, the tweet had gone viral, sending panic into the community.
The video that went viral showed a Walmart trashed after looters ransacked the store.
"Honestly, sometimes I don't believe the stuff that I see," April Villa from Solano County told KPIX. "That's how I think."
Villa is very careful about the content she scrolls through on social media, but the tweet fooled a lot of people in Fairfield as 911 calls came in, one after another.
"One of the biggest things is instilling fear in the community, which results in them calling us again," said Officer Jennifer Brantley with the Fairfield Police Department. "Calling the emergency line and that line can get tied up if we're inundated with calls and people who have an actual emergency will have to wait."
The Fairfield police went online right away to dispute the accuracy of the tweet but by then, the video had received more than a million views.
Brantley said the department reached out to Twitter asking for for help to correct the situation but the company only responded with an asterisk message roughly a day later.
"It's becoming increasingly difficult to report fraudulent accounts and to report misinformation and it's a cause for concern because once something goes out there, it is out there," Brantley said.
Fairfield police Department is asking its community to verify information from reputable sources.
"Especially when it comes from social media, is to fact check," Brantley said. "To confirm, to verify your source and we even do that as a law enforcement agency."
Brantley said the department keeps a close eye on social media to avoid these types of incidents. It's a problem that has been going on for a while but has become even more prevalent since the recent removal of blue check marks.
Those marks were a badge for verified accounts on Twitter. F
For April Villa, she just avoids certain social media platforms.
"I actually try to stay off of it because it is so toxic sometimes," she said. "Sometimes you don't want to see the bad stuff."
KPIX reached out to Twitter but did not receive a response from the company at this time.
