Social network seizure
Mayor out to take charge of city’s online presence
GEELONG’S Mayor has moved to seize control of the city’s mayoral social media accounts to stop “Chinese whispers” spreading inaccurate and misleading comments online.
Stephanie Asher has submitted a motion to rewrite the city’s ‘Mayor and Councillors’ Media Engagement Policy’ to gain administrative rights to the mayoral Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram accounts.
Cr Asher wants to be able to promote her activities and those of other councillors, tag private accounts of other councillors, and “take reasonable steps to proactively respond to inaccurate and misleading comments posted on key mainstream local social media accounts”.
“It’s just sometimes that Chinese whispers get going and people put incorrect information into comments that needs to be corrected and make sure that people get the right information, that’s the intention of it,” Cr Asher said.
The Mayor’s move comes ahead of the city’s new director of communications starting work in the near future.
The city’s social media protocols were established after sharp criticism of the former council’s use of social media before being sacked by the State Government in 2016.
The Commission of Inquiry found evidence of councillors using social media to bully and criticise council officers and in one case retweet an “egregious, racist comment” about a citizen.
The rules were beefed up and clarified because the report found the previous policy was “not effectively used to reflect a corporate position, and some councillors have abused this means of communication both in their dealings with other councillors and members of the public”.
Cr Asher this week said the current council — the first since the sacking — cleaned up its behaviour online.
“This council I think has proved itself to be responsible on social media, I think in the past there was a little bit of misuse, and certainly not in line with the code of conduct, whereas this council has been incredibly well disciplined I think and cooperative around how they use social media,” she said.
Cr Asher — who also has personal social media accounts — said taking control of the city’s mayoral account would give it more “authenticity”.
“It would be useful for the actual person in that role to be able to send messages from themselves as well as the team doing it as well,” she said.