Exposing Bias on Nextdoor
As election season approaches, residents of the Town of Melbourne Beach deserve a fair, transparent, and truthful dialogue about our community’s future. Unfortunately, this standard is under threat. Truth and Accuracy Matter (TAAM) has formally notified Nextdoor’s CEO and President, Nirav Tolia, regarding concerns about biased moderation and the spread of misinformation on their local Melbourne Beach forum. It’s time to address this issue head-on. Click HERE to read the letter.
During previous town elections, Nextdoor allowed blatantly false information about candidates to circulate unchecked. This is unacceptable. A platform meant to connect neighbors became a tool for distortion, undermining trust in our democratic process. Compounding this issue is the revelation that Town Commission Candidate Bruce Larson’s wife, Kristi Larson, serves as a moderator on the Melbourne Beach Nextdoor page. Such a glaring conflict of interest erodes confidence in the forum’s impartiality. Moderators must be neutral guardians of discourse—not individuals with personal ties to candidates.
Truth and Accuracy Matter was founded precisely to combat these challenges. Our mission stems from deep concerns about the conduct of biased Nextdoor moderation and the weaponization of social media to sway votes. Elections should be decided by facts, not propaganda. Yet platforms like Nextdoor—when poorly moderated—enable bad actors to spread lies, often under the guise of “community conversation.” See a recent example below:
FACT
Truth and Accuracy Matter does not support Vacation Rentals in the Town of Melbourne Beach.
Steve Walters’ claim that our organization is “vacation rental people” is 100% false.
Truth and Accuracy Matter currently has 83 citizen activists involved, many who are retired, some who have lived here for generations, and all who are fed up with the dishonest and divisive tactics that Steve Walters continues to display.
This election, we are urging every resident to:
1. Question Sources: Verify claims about candidates through multiple reliable outlets.
2. Host or Attend Meet-and-Greets: Personal interaction cuts through misinformation. Organize or join casual gatherings to ask candidates questions directly. Seeing their values and plans firsthand builds informed voters—not swayed by online rumors.
3. Avoid Complacency: Don’t let social media emojis dictate your views. Lazy scrolling is not research.
4. Use TAAM: Continue to visit our website for fact-checked updates, candidate profiles, and rebuttals to common myths.
Most residents in the Town of Melbourne Beach are knowledgeable people. We love and appreciate our small town charm and expect truth and accuracy. There are many resources available to verify facts - from local newspapers to public records, and websites like Truth and Accuracy Matter. Nextdoor has a responsibility to ensure its platform fosters honest dialogue, not partisan agendas. Until reforms are made, however, the burden falls on us. Let’s honor our civic duty by seeking truth, demanding accountability, and voting with integrity—not impulse.
Together, we can rise above the noise. To stay informed from Truth and Accuracy Matter, sign up for news and updates HERE