Maynard Grad Mistaken Target in Social Media Wars

This first person account is by Doris Truong, a graduate of Maynard's Media Academy for managers and past president of the Asian American Journalists Association. - MIJE Staff

Trolls decided I was taking pictures of Rex Tillerson’s notes. I wasn’t even there.

By Doris Truong

There’s a joke among Asian Americans that people think we all look the same. That joke became my own personal Pizzagate late Wednesday: I got caught in a terrible case of mistaken identity that was exacerbated by the speed at which false information spreads on social media.

I work as a homepage editor at The Washington Post. Because Wednesday was my day off, I hadn’t been online much. But before I went to bed, I noticed a message request on Facebook. Someone I didn’t know asked: “Any comment on you taking photos of Rex Tillerson’s notes?” When I checked Twitter, I had to scroll for several minutes to figure out what was going on. It seemed to start with this post: “Who is this woman and why is she secretly snapping photos of Rex Tillerson’s notes?”

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