City addresses social media risks
THE inherent dangers of uncontrolled social media postings are being tackled by the City of uMhlathuze. The Social Media Management Framework and Protocol (SMMFP) has as its basis the need to keep the public and its stakeholders well informed with official messages and comment via the various platforms now available. While acknowledging the fact that councillors have the right to express their personal opinions, Wednesday’s Exco meeting debated the matter of councillors and officials posting comments and opinions that could be detrimental to both the municipality and the individual. ‘We need to protect the brand and credibility of the city and act responsibly when it comes to social media platforms,’ said mayor Mdu Mhlongo, who added that there would be no retroactive actions against previous posts.
However, a certain measure of control is deemed necessary; while the opportunities modern communication platforms provide can be well utilised in dispensing information and receiving speedy feedback, at the same time they can be extremely dangerous and require a high level of ethical decorum. Under the proposed new framework, councillors will have to add a disclaimer to any post, to the effect that this is private opinion and not a council point of view. However, this would still not absolve them of statements that might breach municipal codes and standards. Councillors and staff are warned that social media conversations are permanently publicly available and often circulate beyond the user’s intended audience. Posting, tweeting, writing or even sharing or ‘liking’ anything amounting to hate speech or reflecting political, religious, sexual or racial bias would be dealt with in the strictest possible manner. Persons who post untested allegations that could bring the name of the council into disrepute will be charged in terms of the code of conduct for employees or for councillors protocol. The SMMFP, which was workshopped earlier this month, was adopted in principle, subject to legal review.