AND here we go again.

Govanhill has been discovered. Not that it's been hiding. It's very clearly sitting there, taking up a solid square mile of Glasgow's south side with several thousand residents making good use of it.

The bars and restaurants and many coffee shops certainly attract their own good deal of attention.

Retail outlets too, bring people in and around the area. So it's not like Govanhill isn't already fairly well known.

For those of us who have long experience of the community we're more than used to the occasional flare up of interest. And no wonder there's interest - it's a fascinating place.

A place with a rich history and rolling cycles of wealth and poverty; of A-listed buildings and slum-like housing; of working men's bars and hipster cafes; of innovative social enterprises and generational family businesses.

It's a beautiful wee place: contradictory, community-minded and thriving. It has problems: serious cleansing issues, high crime rates and grinding poverty. It is not unique in these issues, far from it.

So why this constant rediscovery from people horrified at what they've heard about the place? Well, the other thing about Govanhill is that it's multicultural.

It's really multicultural. It's home to dozens of different nationalities, all co-existing, all bringing unique perspectives to the area, making Govanhill rich in experiences.

It's home, also, to Roma communities. And there we have it. Each fresh discovery of Govanhill is always linked to the Roma people who have made Govanhill their home. For those who fly in from outside, they are a silent, homogeneous group who can be dehumanised and defamed because they have no powerful voice to reply.

For those who live in Govanhill and have any humanity, these constant flare ups of performative alarm are appalling. We're talking of thousands of individual people, from different countries and of different religions. All will have experience or knowledge of persecution, all will be looking for new and better lives with new opportunities here in Glasgow.

There are cultural clashes. Roma people will socialise outdoors, they stand in groups on the street. Some find this intimidating and would prefer the police moved them on. Others take this as a sure sign of criminality - they are only out there because they are up to no good.

The Roma are scapegoats for overcrowding, for fly tipping, for substandard housing conditions, for crime. Occasionally local whispers of the nefarious behaviours of the Roma reach a certain pitch and the elevated tone brings some new explorer in from outside.

Like Columbus destined for the New World, a brave adventurer will come to uncover the sights as those of us who are all too familiar with the landscape watch in bemusement. Most recently, the age-old slur against the Roma followed them here: that parents sell their children. A Police Scotland dedicated unit was set up to investigate these allegations and, after many months in the community, turned up nothing.

Of course there is child sexual exploitation in the area. That is a devastating but true fact. There is human trafficking. Only last year, four people were jailed for selling women from a flat just a couple of streets from my own. Each day at the end of the trial we would all leave the High Court at the same time, heading in the same direction. Our neighbours, monstering young women and girls.

If anyone thinks the problems in the area are invisible, then they exist in a delusion. If anyone thinks that "nothing is being done", they haven't stopped to check.

In the past week videos have been circulating on social media in which, with no supporting facts, term Govanhill the "child trafficking capital of Scotland." In fact, the person who makes this claim admits that the allegation is "in my opinion". The Roma are discussed.

"Rape is endemic to their culture, it's allowed." "They hate everyone who's not of their culture." "They're all carrying blades, they'll use them in two seconds flat." "They come out at night like rats."

It's distressing to hear neighbours, friends and colleagues described in this way. God knows how it feels to be described in such a way.

In one video a flyer decrying rogue landlords is shown and the notion that landlords are to blame for the area's substandard housing is dismissed. Anyone with a cursory interest in the topic or who has done even a scratch of research into the issues affecting Govanhill would know that rogue landlords are an integral part of the problem.

Several million pounds has been spent taking housing into central control to alleviate the issue while the local authority tackles the landlords directly.

These videos have been watched hundreds of thousands of times. It's impossible to log into Twitter or Facebook this week and have missed them. Allegations made in them aren't new, nor are they substantiated yet they seem to have gripped the imaginations of a significant number of people.

I wonder if, in part, this is indicative of a distrust in the mainstream media that has been brewing for some time. I've been contacted multiple times in the past few days by readers, friends and even colleagues who seem to think the idea of child sexual exploitation going on is some sort of scoop. The issues in Govanhill have been well covered by a wide array of the press yet an unknown person with a camera phone, no expertise and no evidence can convince so many people who swallow it whole without verifying the information.

It's no surprise that people are moved by the issue of child sexual exploitation. Any right-thinking person would be utterly outraged. That outrage, though, is being manipulated into racial discrimination that only harms.

In a recent piece by investigative news website The Ferret, looking at QAnon conspiracies in Scotland, the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate said legitimate concerns about child abuse are “being mixed with flagrant misinformation, whipping up an intense, dangerous anger”. Govanhill, home to marginalised and vulnerable communities, is rife for that anger to spill over.

We're told that Govanhill is a no go zone. Viewers are advised not to come to the area, certainly not after dark, as it's unsafe. On an evening walk through Govanhill this week I saw one of these videos being recorded. It was quiet and peaceful and felt perfectly safe, as a young woman strolling alone.

Do feel free to come to Govanhill and talk a walk around. But do it because it's a vibrant part of the city worth visiting, not because you get a thrill from the thought of imaginary bogeymen.

There are problems in Govanhill and there are ways to help. Obscene poverty tourism is not one.