Beware the ‘ghost stories’ from the past being used to change today’s conversation

Taking old stories and reposting them out of context on social media only serves to dull their importance and their authority

Travelling back in time is easier than you’d think.

One of the unique things about working at the social media desk of a digital news organisation is the ability to see trends and conversations as they happen. I can watch how many people are reading an article, where they are reading it from, how many times they’re sharing it, if they are commenting or merely posting it to the their timeline to make a statement – it’s a fascinating insight into how we consume our news and interact with it.

But every so often, an article that has been long been considered put to bed by a journalist or editor is flung back into the social conversation.