Laws, Policies, and Ethics

           When researching the ethics and social media I was expecting to find information on what you should or shouldn’t post on social media and while those articles are plentiful the ones I found the most interesting centered on the ethics of using social media for journalism. I am not a journalist but I found that the information about this topic in an ethics handbook posted by NPR.org to be good guidelines when using social media for information whether you are doing it for journalistic purposes or not.

              We have discussed fake new before and since most reputable news sources attempt to put out real, fact-checked news they have had to form guidelines on how to avoid publishing fake news as it is unethical. They ask their reporters to ‘be careful, be skeptical,” when passing along information. They require transparency from their journalist, requiring them to let viewers know if information from social media has been confirmed. They suggest following up with leads and sources offline when possible. It is easy to make fake social media profiles, and they say that it isn’t always easy to understand a person’s tone over online communication.

              I think that every single one of those ethic guidelines for journalist could just as easily be applied to me as a social media user. Is it important and ethical for me to be careful and skeptical when I am on social media? Absolutely. If I am passing on information I find it is be of extreme import that the information has been confirmed and is from a reputable source. If not for ethics sake but for the sake of my own reputation. I feel like the guideline of following up offline is an important one for the everyday social-media user. How often have you had an online conversation with someone and come away thinking that they were upset with you to only find out later that there were no hard feelings? It can be so difficult to convey emotion and tone through online mediums that actual in-person conversation are a perfect way to avoid that pitfall.

              The last point in big bold type that NPR makes is HONESTY. If you aren’t telling the truth or are in anyway avoiding the truth you should not post it. Evaluate what you are about to put online whether it be on Facebook, on a blog post, or in a tweet and ask yourself 1. Am I being honest and transparent and 2. Am I okay with what I am about to post being public property?  Because once it goes onto any of those three mentioned platforms and many more it becomes publicly available. Even conversations that were meant to be just for family and friends can be circulated widely beyond personal circles. I think NPR sums it up best when they tell their reporters, “In other words, don’t behave any differently online than you would in any other public setting.”