Communications Minister: The social media posts about the PM being investigated by the US authorities on money laundering charges is textbook misinformation and are deliberately irresponsible and inflammatory… Its intent is to plant the seed of doubt and contention for mischief and bacchanal.
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I received multiple messages today concerning the original version of the image attached and 2 others in circulation that are just as misleading. However, I refuse to empower the authors by reposting them because their names are included.
Here are the facts.
The Prime Minister travelled to the US for the IX Summit of the Americas. The Prime Minister then extended his stay in the US to attend to his personal healthcare.
These are matters of public record.
I don’t know the authors of the posts circulating but it is instructive that almost everyone who sent me the posts identified one as a known UNC operative. I won’t make a pronouncement on that but a cursory review of their posts will be sufficient for anyone to come to their own conclusion.
What I do know is that this is straight out of the UNC Opposition’s playbook. It is textbook misinformation and it is a distraction. It is consistent with the near-constant flow of misinformation in the public domain that must then be addressed, out of respect for the public whom we serve, and which then takes us away from being able to address very real concerns the public has.
These posts, like others from other operatives, first and foremost are devoid of any facts or references to facts. They are also deliberately irresponsible and inflammatory with their words but this should come as no surprise to people either. This is the behaviour to which we have become accustomed.
What we need to understand is the intention. It is to plant the seed of doubt and contention. Unfortunately, when they inevitably retract those words, they know the damage will have been done.
This cannot be the way we operate as a Nation.
This Government understands that it has hard work to do at a very hard time but we understand our job and we will continue to do it.
These posts were intended only for mischief, bacchanal and the creation of doubt in authority and they should be dismissed as such.
Symon de Nobriga, MP
