Social Media Policy Purpose

The Trust’s social media use is governed by several laws; equally, we have a very positive reputation, and this is extremely important in delivering our charitable work.  The policy will help you understand how to use social media effectively and well, and avoid problems (Trustees, staff or third parties associated with the Trust).

The Trust currently has a LinkedIn account and an X account only, which can be accessed by Danielle Howes and Suzannah O’Brien; these are linked to the enquiries@bishopradfordtrust.org.uk email.

Social Media Guidelines

The purpose of social media use for The Bishop Radford Trust is to inform the public of our objectives and the impact of our grant-making activities (where agreed with grantees). The trust’s social media posts must be accurate and not misleading.

Permitted social media content, i.e. general information about the charity and its objectives, application windows or how to apply for grants and summaries of activities (where agreed with grantees).

Use of social media is covered by several UK laws, and social media has no national boundaries, so posts may be read in other countries.  You may be breaking the law if you post (or potentially repost) anything that may fall into any of the following categories:

• Harassment – not leaving someone alone.
• Menacing behaviour – writing something that may scare someone.
• Threatening behaviour – making someone believe that you were going to hurt them.
• Grossly offensive comments – making deeply unpleasant comments about a sensitive issue.
• Libel – a post is potentially libellous if it is a false statement and may damage someone’s reputation.
• Defamation – users may be sued for defamation if they post an unsubstantiated rumour about someone.
• Data protection – breaching an individual’s right to privacy.
• Copyright – posting material without permission that is owned by another person or organisation.

Charity Social Media Guidelines 

Do not breach privacy or security.  Do not post personal information, such as someone’s home address, and never post about individuals without their consent, unless there is little, if any doubt, it would be given.  Remember that individuals who may not be fully competent, perhaps due to a disability or illness, such as dementia, may not be able to give consent.

Don’t make it easy for criminals by posting information that they might use. For example, if the lock on the front door has broken (again), you will be taking a lot of cash to the bank or working late on your own.

Clearly state that your opinions are your own. Make clear that your comments, opinions or social media posts are your own, so these won’t be interpreted as the trust’s position. 

Appear human.  Observing certain guidelines does not mean you have to sound like a robot. Speak in the first person; bring your personality to the forefront.

Write using our ‘tone of voice’. Where possible, when communicating with the public, media or government, use our ‘tone of voice’, be professional, courteous, positive and respect the right of others to hold opinions that are different to ours.

Text and Symbols.  Using emoji, ‘lol’ etc can help add humour to a fun post, but don’t use them if you are making an important point, as this would trivialise your message.  And using multiple exclamations, lots of capital letters, bold, and underlining is ‘shouting’, you would not be taken seriously.

Think first, upload/tweet after. If something gets online, it stays there for a long time. Tweets now appear in Google search results. So that off-hand tweet or opinionated blog post can all be traced back to you.

Ask for a second opinion. Not sure if and how you should tweet or comment on something? Ask for advice.

Be politically neutral.  It is essential that must be not only politically neutral, but seen to be. 

Ethics.   Posts should always be respectful of beneficiaries and portray them in a way they would wish to be, and not cause embarrassment, offence or alarm.

Respect copyright, fair use and other laws.  Using imagery?  Make sure you acknowledge the source and observe copyright laws.   Images of crowds at events don’t require the approval of each individual, but images where a limited number of individuals are the subject matter of the image do.  You must obtain permission if you wish to use images of children or vulnerable adults.

Don’t be offensive.  To anyone, for any reason.  Two good tests:

• If you wouldn’t say it to their face, don’t say it at all and:
• If you wouldn’t want your mother to read it, don’t write it.  

 Extremist views, sexism, pornography/distressing or otherwise offensive imagery, racial/ethnic or religious discrimination, homophobia or disparaging comments against any minority group, such as the disabled or mentally ill, would not be acceptable under any circumstances, ever.

Meaning

Remember that the majority of our communication is through body language and voice tone/loudness, etc., and the amount of written text in social media can be limited, so meaning can easily be lost.  What may appear light-hearted and funny to you may potentially come across very differently on social media.

Consider potential social and/or cultural differences in your audience who may be more sensitive to particular issues or subjects than the wider population.   

Social Media Moderation

We act as a platform, both online and off, for our community to debate issues that matter to them and we actively encourage diversity of opinion.  We believe that open, honest debate can help to address divisions and just because we don’t agree with something, doesn’t necessarily mean that we would remove it.  For example, critical comments about our work are rare but, whilst we always respond in a balanced and measured way, we do not remove these, even when we do not necessarily agree with these, subject to the guidelines below.

The community has diversity of views, some strongly held.  There is nothing wrong in holding strong views, but that does not automatically make alternative views offensive.  In general, as long as a post does not break the law, is a genuine contribution to a debate and is not offensive, we would not usually remove it.  Specifically, we will take down any post that falls into the categories below:

• Anything we believe may fall into any of the categories in the section above titled ‘The Law’.
• We would remove any post that contained views that we feel the majority of

• down, screenshot or otherwise record the post.

Policy Distribution

This social media policy is to be brought to the attention of staff, trustees and third parties on appointment, and relevant elements are to be included in group moderation statements, editorial policies, and staff handbook, as appropriate.

Policy Approval and Review

Approved by: Trustee Board

Date:

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