If you manage a University-related social media account, make sure you are familiar with and following Clemson’s Social Media Guidelines.
Dealing with negative social media comments can unfortunately be a common occurrence. Your first thought might be to delete the comment and/or block the user who posted it, but don’t!
Below is an excerpt from Clemson’s Social Media Guidelines:
As a public university, Clemson respects freedom of speech and has certain obligations under the First Amendment and related laws. Posts on a typical, open social media site (i.e., the Clemson University Facebook page) cannot be limited based on the content or viewpoint of the speech/expression, with the exception of posts that break laws or do not contain speech protected by the First Amendment (as one example, speech inciting imminent violence).
Other Clemson University social media sites that are intended for specific subject matter rather than for general use should conspicuously contain an “About” section that includes the following statement:
“This site is intended for discussion of {INSERT SUBJECT MATTER}. It is not a “traditional public forum” as that phrase is defined in applicable law interpreting the First Amendment. We welcome your opinions and encourage open discussion about the topics we post. If we become aware of messages that contain advertising, are off-topic, infringe someone’s rights, or are violations of the law, we reserve the right to remove them.”
Notably, while such a disclaimer allows the University to define a specific topic or subject matter to be discussed on an issue-specific social media page, it does not allow the University to delete, edit or censor posts based on the post’s viewpoint regarding that topic.
