And more cause to be sceptical, as the platforms available to people to publish become more prolific.

A shark warning issued more than 200 kilometres from the Surf Coast raised alarm bells for those with the Emergency AUS app.

The unofficial application distributes emergency information and warnings issued by official sources. 

VicEmergency is the authorised website and app for such a purpose in Victoria.

Emergency Management Victoria describes third party apps such as Emergency AUS as “an alternative for the community,” and it’s good to have options.

But, as the Big Hill blunder demonstrated, there are pitfalls to relying on unofficial sources to distribute accurate, important information.

Unless we missed an extraordinary story, there was little danger of people encountering a shark in Big Hill, Bendigo, at the weekend.

But, as Peter Williams pointed out, there was the serious issue of whether or not the warning made it to the people for whom it was highly relevant.  And what if people at Big Hill on the Surf Coast had, hypothetically, received a fire alert intended for people who were at risk of danger in Bendigo?

Emergency Management Victoria would have had to answer for the VicEmergency app, had it failed its users.

But what compels a third party developer of a free app to be similarly accountable?

Other than customer reviews, what assurances do users have about the accuracy of the information presented?

Peter Williams initially trusted the Emergency AUS app was an official source of information because of how prominently it appeared when he was searching for the replacement of the FireReady app. 

Emergency Management Victoria has been promoting the VicEmergency App, the FireReady app’s successor, for months. 

But it does not seem the message has permeated to become popular knowledge.

Our authorised information outlets need to become more savvy about getting their messages across.

And users need to be more discerning about their sources in a world where people with the ability to publish don’t always honour the responsibility to do so with integrity.

Emma D’Agostino, journalist