Lac-Mégantic information gap leads families to turn to social media

[View the story "Social media fills official information gap in Lac Mégnatic disaster" on Storify]

Storified by CBC News Community· Mon, Jul 08 2013 11:47:26

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The terror and shock arrived in a split second in the devastated town of Lac Mégantic, Quebec. The information, however, has been much slower. 

More than two days after the dozens of oil tankers crashed in and exploded in the once-idyllic town, the official death toll is only five. But according to police, 40 people are still missing. 

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People desperate to know the whereabouts of friends and family have flocked to social media, but it's been hard to know what is fact and what is hearsay.

The Sûreté du Québec, Quebec's provincial police force, has made an effort to be present online, tweeting some information about the disaster and subsequent investigation. 

"People must inform authorities when they find loved ones who had been reported missing," reads this tweet.

Les gens qui retrouvent des proches dont ils ont signalé la disparition doivent le faire savoir aux autorités #LacMégantic.Sûreté du Québec

The police force also started a Facebook page, which as of Monday noon had nearly 15,000 likes. 

Voici le lien vers notre page Facebook sur le suivi des événements à #LacMégantic: http://on.fb.me/1d5Sl6WSûreté du Québec

Page d'information : sinistrés de Lac-MéganticPage créée pour la diffusion rapide d'infos d'urgence sur les événements à Lac-Mégantic aux sinistrés.

But citizen-initiated sites quickly became more popular than official sources. 

By Sunday, journalists such as the Globe and Mail's Les Perreaux, were sharing this link -- with some reservations. 

Remember when I said the information vacuum left by the SQ would be filled? Can't vouch for authenticity of this. http://www.supportlacmegantic.com/index.phpLes Perreaux

According to a Canadian Press report, the site supportlacmegantic.com was started by two friends in Quebec City who wanted to do their part to help people affected by the tragedy. They also started a Facebook page which now has more than 25,000 likes. 

"This is a public page and not a group, created to help people and families in Lac-Mégantic to find their loved ones," reads this post from Saturday afternoon. "Good luck to everyone!!"

Ceci est une Page publique et non un groupe. Destiné à aider tous les gens et familles de Lac-Mégantic à retrouver les êtres chers. Bonne chance à tous !!

The supportlacmegantic.com Web site initially had two columns: one for the people who were reported missing and another for those who were found. Users were able to add a name to either list, and were also able to modify an entry to transfer a name from the missing list to the found list. 

But on Sunday evening the list of missing people was taken down.

"We have removed the list of missing people in order to permit the investigators to do their job. We hope we've been able to help as many people as possible to find their family and friends. We are leaving the list of people who have been found for your information, and you can add names to that list to reassure others. We want to inform you that these are unofficial lists a that have been crowd sourced. Our hearts are with the families of Lac-Mégantic and we continue to work in solidarity with them. Together, we are supporting the victims and their families."

Nous avons enlevé la liste des personnes recherchées pour permettre aux enquêteurs de faire leurs travaux. Nous espérons avoir aidé le plus de gens possible à retrouver leur famille et proche. Nous laissons la liste des personnes retrouvées à votre disposition et vous pourrez ajouter des personnes pour rassurer la population. Nous tenons à vous informer qu'il s'agit ici de listes non officielles qui ont été gérées par le public. Nous sommes de tout cœur avec les familles de Lac-Mégantic et continuerons de travailler solidairement pour elles. Tous ensemble, soutenons les sinistrés et leurs familles.

Users were disappointed by the shut down of the list. 

"I don't see how the list of missing people interfered with the work of the investigators," wrote this person in response to the post above.

Je ne vois pas en quoi une liste des personnes recherchées peut 'empêcher les enquêteurs de faire leurs travaux'.See TranslationMichel Perreault

Another member of the group wrote:

"I find it disturbing to see that [the authorities] are trivializing the number of victims. Instead of saying one to five people dead, they shouldn't say number at all. It makes it seem like they are taking the citizens for idiots. There are many people who are dead; the people who were in bed asleep and most of them probably didn't see anything coming and definitely didn't make it out of their houses. Let's not put our heads in the sand, there are unfortunately dozens of them. My sympathies to all of them. It's a real drama and I hope justice will be served. We don't want any more lies, tell us the real story. It all seems to me to be a series of human errors like in so many other disasters!"

Je trouve ça abhérant de voir qu'il banalise le nombre de victime... Au lieux de dire 1-5 morts ne dites pas de chiffres tout court, c'est prendre les citoyens pour des imbéciles!! Il y a un tas de personnes décédés, les gens dormaient dans leurs lits et la plupart n'ont probablement rien vu venir et n'ont certainement même pas pu sortir de leurs maisons. Avec la chaleur infernale, ce coin était un vrai four! Ne nous mettons pas la tête dans le sable, des victimes il y en a malheureusement et il y en a des dizaines!! Mes sympathies à tous! C'est un vrai drame et j'espère que justice sera rendu! Les mensonges ont en veut plus, dites nous les vrais affaires! Tout ça me semble être une série de négligeances humaines comme dans bien d'autres drames!See TranslationMarie-Andrée T. Rolland

Another closed group was started on Facebook where family member and friends are posting photos of loved ones they are still looking for. It has nearly 21,000 likes. 

Some people commenting on this page agree that the list should have been shut down. 

"This list worried me since yesterday," writes this woman. "Wise decision to take it down. It was a good initiative but too many people posted whatever they wanted. Stick with the official source."

Cette liste m'inquiétait depuis hier. Sage décision que de l'avoir retirée. C'était une bonne initiative mais trop de personnes pouvaient y mettre n'importe quoi. Conformez vous à la liste officielleAnne Gregoir

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