Dear Editor,
I am writing to you because I am increasingly concerned - and frankly, exhausted - by the way our local Facebook community groups are being systematically repurposed as 24/7 campaign offices for the Liberal Democrats.
We all know that community groups for Trull, Comeytrowe, Orchard Grove, and the surrounding areas are vital lifelines for residents to share news, seek help, or discuss local issues.
However, these spaces are currently being overrun by what can only be described as high-frequency indirect canvassing.
Even Taunton Matters is full of ward councillors' posts.
Take, for example, the recent activity of Cllr Dawn Johnson.
On a single day, she has posted the exact same 'pothole update' across five different community groups.
While we all want our roads fixed, the sheer repetition feels less like public service and more like a coordinated effort to dominate every resident's newsfeed.
On that same day, she managed to broadcast three different subjects across various groups.
Each feed reads like the 'Dawn Show.'
Similarly, Mike Rigby maintains a ubiquitous presence, posting on everything from local statues and bird sightings to renewable energy.
Unsurprisingly, Cllr Rigby's post contains the same wording as Cllr Johnson's.
Individually, these posts are harmless, but collectively, they create a 'surround-sound' political presence that smothers genuine, spontaneous dialogue between neighbours.
There is a real danger here.
When elected officials treat community groups as their personal billboards, the 'community' element begins to vanish.
Residents are being talked at, rather than talked with.
Our digital 'village boards' are becoming playgrounds for political rhetoric, where the nuanced voices of local people are drowned out by polished, high-volume branding.
How do we take back control?
It is time for group moderators to consider stricter rules against cross-posting and for residents to demand that these spaces remain neutral ground.
Our community groups should be a shared resource for conversation, not a permanent, digital campaign trail.
I believe your readers would be interested in a wider discussion on whether our local democracy is being served, or simply 'spammed,' by this new era of social media saturation.
Yours sincerely,
Thomas Jones
