It is important to note that if you are experiencing online abuse then you should alert colleagues and, where appropriate, police. You should also consider alerting the social media platform in question.
Social media are important tools for you as a local councillor / prospective local councillor, enabling you to communicate and engage with your constituents and key stakeholders. This online safety toolkit aims to support you in using it as safely as possible and in knowing what to do and where to go if you experience any online abuse.
Social media enable you to share key messages and updates on your work without the need to go through a gatekeeper such as a journalist. They also enable you to respond directly to any questions your constituents may have, if you choose to use them this way.
Equally, there are a number of potential pitfalls and risks when it comes to using social media. An important thing to bear in mind here is that social media can be overwhelming, with messages and comments flying around at all times of the day and night. As such, it is crucial to set boundaries to help protect yourself.
It can be helpful to establish rules about when you will be checking in on your account/s, and what kinds of messages will receive a reply. It is a good idea to include this in your bio. Any users should then be aware if and when you might reasonably be expected to respond.
Some councillors make it clear in their bio that any requests for support need to be made via email rather than social media.
The Local Government Association has produced a ‘rules of engagement’ infographic setting out boundaries which you could use in your bio.
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More info can be found here:
Deleting, purging or locking old social media accounts
There are countless examples of old social media accounts coming back to haunt those elected to office, so consider whether you need to set up a new account or remove messages (such as those that contain personal information) from your account before using it as part of your elected position.
If you wish to retain private accounts, for example, you may wish to review the settings on who is allowed to see or share your posts or to restrict access to your account
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