Your voice travels far and it matters what you say



Contributing Writer
Photo: Portrait 541 Credit: Leroy Skalstad

Photo: Portrait 541 Credit: Leroy Skalstad

Most of us would be apprehensive about Donald Trump doling out medical diagnoses, but when he lent his voice to anti-vaccination movement attributing childhood vaccination with increased incidence of autism, many people were listening.  The problem is that the science behind the assertion that he’s championing has been since debunked.  Model / actress Jenny McCarthy is widely credited with perpetuating the cause despite the cited research being shown fraudulent.

I’m a Rotarian, and the primary cause that our organization focuses on is Polio eradication.  We hear story after story of the horrors of Polio and how the Polio vaccination improved the lives of tens of thousands of people.  It’s a priority of the Gates Foundation and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative as well,.  It’s a priority to these organizations because of the extraordinary long-term health benefits of vaccination and the increased incidence of disability and mortality without.

So, why does it matter that Donald Trump or Jenny McCarthy intimate a causal link between vaccines and autism?  Because they influence people to make unsound decisions.  These decisions affect the health of children and could even result in death.

The point I wanted to make is simply that your influence increases proportional to your reach.  As we get caught up the minutia of online social interaction, it’s easy to underestimate the extent that we can influence people’s viewpoint or actions.  It’s important to understand the power of every post, tweet, pin and statement.

Sadly, Donald Trump’s celebrity gives him an outlet to share views like this – and kids will probably die because he used championed such an ill-conceived cause.

Anyone can write a guest post on LeadersWest.com! It’s an easy way to get a backlink to your site and see your name in lights! Click here to do it!

Want some Facebook love? Send us your site address and we will follow you AND promote you! (No strings attached)

Want some blog traffic! Send us your link or RSS and we broadcast you on Twitter and Facebook! (no strings attached)
Photo Credit

Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty

Writer and chief of miscellany at leaderswest.com

I aspire to give people something to think about rather than tell them what to do. My favorite Google Alert is “social media research,” I am increasingly compelled by Gen Z, and I appreciate good writers agnostic of where they write. At one time I was Kred’s 12th most influential social media blogger and Klout’s most influential person on the topic of David Hasselhoff. Transplant from Seattle living in Cincinnati. Haven’t entirely adopted the local sports teams yet.

Jim Dougherty

@jimdougherty

Writer about social media and tech at Leaders West, I also tweet as @leaderswest.

@jessgoddesse Thanks, Jess! Appreciate your share and kind words! – 2 hours ago

Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty

  • http://www.sexyfocusedambitious.com Lauryn Doll

    Strong and often overlooked point you bring up. It’s very easy to forget who you’re influencing within the social media realm and noise.

  • http://theemailwriter.com/ Courtney James

    With great power comes great responsibility. Voltaire’s advice applies here in spades. If only wisdom came with the accumulation or money, fame, and power. It doesn’t seem to be the case.

Top