The spread of swine flu is clearly extremely serious and concerning. Yet so is the extent to which the spread of rumour and innuendo on Twitter seems to send many tweeters into a flap.

Fears of a pandemic are justified, but given some of what I’ve seen going on on Twitter this week, it seems Twitter may be fuelling a level of paranoia unmatched by the mainstream media.

Before the internet was a news and general information source, people would tell each other not to believe everything they read in the papers or hear on the evening news. So why do so many people seem to take every tweet so seriously?

A few clients have talked to me this week about their fears of disinformation spreading quickly on Twitter and how they can help counter false rumours. Given the way the swine flu fears have mushroomed, I can see their point. In time though, I expect people will get a better perspective on the fact that unless later proven by other means, Twitter information can have all the credence (and influence) of a late night conversation in the pub.

It’s time for a dose of reality, and the realisation that with media proliferation comes a need for dependable and trustworthy information sources. Step forward ye destitute publishers bemoaning the shrivelling of the newspaper market and seeking new revenue streams.

Until then, I’ll be twittering and following cautiously.