Smithsonian policies on social media and political activity

We are all experiencing a surge of communications in the news and on social media. During this time of government-policy changes and heavy communications traffic across all social platforms, we are getting many questions from employees related to personal and official social media postings. This is an opportune time to remind everyone about the Smithsonian’s policies concerning social media and political activity.

 

Social Media

Please review the FAQs on personal vs. official social media, which can be found on Prism.

Depending on whether you are an authorized Smithsonian spokesperson or not, there are different considerations when engaging on social media. Most employees are not authorized spokespeople; if you are unsure which category you fall into, please refer to the FAQs. Those who are not spokespeople should be mindful of the following:

• Smithsonian policies generally do not apply to speech on your personal platforms. You have the right to freely share your thoughts and opinions in your personal capacity.
• If you discuss the Smithsonian on your personal account (e.g., by publishing or posting your opinion about activities occurring at the Smithsonian), your audience may incorrectly assume that you are an authority speaking for the Smithsonian.
• We encourage you to use your best judgment and be thoughtful with Smithsonian-related content that goes beyond just “sharing” your unit’s or the Smithsonian’s social media posts.
• No person, organization, or media outlet requires permission to quote you or repost—in part or in full—the content and visuals you share. Deleting a post does not eliminate this risk. Once on the internet, the post may be accessible forever because it is possible it was already captured.
• To help mitigate the likelihood that a third party mistakes your statement for an official position of the Smithsonian, we recommend the use of disclaimers stating that the views expressed are your own personal ones when posting about anything related to the Smithsonian.
• Re-posting or linking to someone else’s post is essentially the same as posting that content yourself. On many social networks, liking or commenting on a post may also be visible to other users.
• Smithsonian policy prohibits the disclosure of any non-public information regarding Smithsonian activities, events, or internal discussions on your personal social media platforms. Sharing such information can jeopardize the integrity of our Institution and its initiatives. Protecting these details helps maintain our professional standards and trust both within our organization and with the public.

Political Activity

While all employees have the right, in their personal capacity, to contact members of Congress about issues of importance to them, Smithsonian policy and federal law restrict such Congressional outreach when conducted in your official Smithsonian capacity.

Smithsonian Directive 103, Smithsonian Institution Standards of Conduct, Section 10(b), states that “Employees may take positions, as private citizens, on matters of public policy but in doing so may not purport to speak in their official Smithsonian capacity, or in a manner, through the use of their titles, which may be reasonably construed to represent that of the Smithsonian.”

• If communicating with Congress as a private citizen, employees:
  • Must not use Smithsonian resources (including work time, office space, e-mail accounts, telephones, or computers) or Smithsonian titles
  • Must not state or imply that you speak on behalf of the Smithsonian

• If communicating with Congress as a Smithsonian representative, employees:

• Must coordinate with the Office of Government Relations in advance
• Must not appeal to the public, including organizations, to contact Members of Congress concerning legislation or appropriations (this would be unlawful grassroots lobbying)
• Must not re-post or link to other people’s appeals to contact Congress (unlawful grassroots lobbying)

If you have any questions about social media use, please contact your unit social media manager or Erin Blasco, Social Media Strategist, at blascoe@si.edu. For questions about personal political activity, please contact the Office of General Counsel at legalhelp@si.edu or the Office of Government Relations at OfficeGovtRelations@si.edu.

Finally, as a reminder, any requests for interviews about Smithsonian-related matters should be forwarded to the appropriate communications representative within your unit.

Regards,

Julissa Marenco                                                          Jenny McIntyre
Assistant Secretary,                                                    Chief Legal Officer
Office of Communications and External Affairs
and Chief Marketing Officer