Government reliance on social media is a communication failure

Sir, – I hope we have all learned something from the fuel protests so that, as a society, we can work towards being more resilient in the future.

One issue the Government needs to consider relates to communication channels used by the various State agencies. It cannot be considered acceptable for State agencies to be almost exclusively using social media to reach the public.

Many of us no longer use these platforms or never used them to begin with. Furthermore, an increasing number of countries are restricting access to younger people. A national crisis clearly drives “engagement” and creates a windfall for the owners of these private media.

The Government should consider creating its own public platform or application for crisis management – a place to reach all citizens and visitors. – Yours, etc,