SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS
Geotagging: The process of adding geographical identification metadata or various media such as a geotagged photograph or video, websites, QR Codes, SMS messages or RSS feeds and is a form of GPS (Global Positioning System) data. This data usually consists of latitude and longitude coordinates.
Internet: The global network of computing device networks.
Personally identifiable information (PII): Any data that could potentially identify a specific individual such as first and/or last name, phone number, email, mailing address, school, date of birth or any combination thereof.
Public Communication: Dialogue in the public sphere in order to deliver a message to a specific audience, advertisements, newspaper editorials, speaking events, Social Media or email are a few forms of public communication.
Social Media: Forms of electronic communication/content used to share information, comments, images, messages, video and other content via a Social Network.
Social Network: A public or private dedicated website or other application that enables users to communicate with each other via Social Media. Examples of private Social Network are Skype for Business, Yammer, Sharepoint, Workplace by Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber and examples of public Social Networks are Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Snapchat, YouTube, Skype and Facebook.
Website: A location on the graphical portion of the Internet typically abbreviated with WWW
INTRODUCTION
This Policy is intended to provide guidelines to Child Awareness Project’s representatives around the use of Social Media. It applies to all aspects of Social Media and Social Networking, including any content you contribute to personal sites, especially when referencing projects or programs on which you may be working. This Policy will continually evolve as new technologies and Social Networking tools emerge-so it is essential to periodically check for updates, which shall be appended at the end in the form of dated revisions. Individual representatives have been authorised to speak to the public as spokespersons.
These policies and procedures are related to personal communications/networks and do not pre-empt this authorisation. If you are communicating for or on behalf of Child Awareness Project, you should clearly state your role and be sure that any posting has been pre-approved by the Director of Marketing and/or his/her designee.
SCOPE
Child Awareness Project respects freedom of speech and rights of its representatives, and this policy is not meant to infringe upon their personal opinions and/or personal communications. However, in the sphere of online Social Media Networks, the lines are blurred between public and private, professional and personal. The same principles and policies that apply to Child Awareness Project’s representative's activities offline, in general, refer to their activities online. Social Networking activities are subject to all of Child Awareness Project’s policies, including but not limited to “CAP Child Safeguarding Policy.”
PROCEDURES
1. Be Transparent: You should clearly state that the views being expressed on Social Media are your personal views alone, and do not necessarily represent the views of Child Awareness Project or its partners. You may use a disclaimer such as “The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of Child Awareness Project” or a shorter form such as “my personal views.” The ideal place for this disclosure is in the account profile bio/about me section and not in each post. This does not apply if you are posting to internal channels (Workplace by Facebook, etc.,). Contact information, such as phone number and email address, should be your contacts and not your Save the Children contacts unless you are authorised to represent Child Awareness Project officially. For instance, if you sign a petition not representing Child Awareness Project, you should always use your personal contact information (email, phone number, mailing address) and not contact information associated with or issued by Child Awareness Project.
2. Be Sensible: You should ensure that your online profile(s) and the content associated with you on the internet is consistent with how you wish to present yourself to colleagues and constituents as well as your friends and family. Use common sense when posting controversial content and if posting something gives you pause, then you should pause. You should assume that anything posted on Social Media even if it seems private, could become public.
3. Be Truthful: When posting, all statements about Child Awareness Project should be genuine and not misleading. In addition, all claims about our programs and practices must be substantiated and if the source of information is a third-party, it should be cited.
4. Seek Consent: Employees are required to protect the dignity and privacy of our beneficiaries in any public communication under Child Awareness Project Child Safeguarding Policy. When posting images or videos, you should check with the Child Awareness Project Core Team prior to publication to confirm that the beneficiaries have permitted to use their images publicly.
5. Ask Permission: Always get approval to post images from donors and/or colleagues with whom you might be travelling and whom you are personally identifiable by name or likeness in Social Media. Respect the property rights of others, only include your original content or be sure you have permission to publish or reproduce material belonging to someone else in your Public Communication.
6. Follow Terms of Use: When posting, be sure you follow the terms and conditions for any sites which may not use. Social Media sites such as Google+, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest all have rules and practices regarding what kind of activities, communications, and content is permitted or prohibited on their websites. It is your responsibility to respect and adhere to these rules, as you could be ultimately responsible for any violations and jeopardise your participation on these sites.
WHAT TO AVOID
1. Exact Location: Do not disclose specific information regarding the location of our programs, or any information which could endanger the wellbeing of your beneficiary children or our representatives. It is not permissible to publish exact locations (GPS coordinates, home address, or office address) of programs or location of country offices, except in an emergency. You mustn't give any information about a child that could lead to the child being traced.
2. Personally Identifiable Information: Do not reveal Personally Identifiable Information of yourself, our representatives, or our beneficiaries (children) except when permitted in this Policy.
3. Internal Information: Do not publish material about the internal operations of the Child Awareness Project outside of the Agency’s intranet environments. Similarly, employees should not publish, share, or report on conversations that are meant to be private or internal to Child Awareness Project, our corporate partners or peer organisations.
4. Legal Matters: Do not comment on anything related to legal matters, litigation, or any parties with whom Child Awareness Project is in litigation without the appropriate approval from the Founder & CEO.
5. Confidential Material: While Child Awareness Project encourages our representatives to share our Public Communications (for instance the online safety manual) but the publication of classified material (i.e., technical or program methodologies; finances; resource strategies) is not permitted.
6. Tradename/Logo: Do not create Social Media accounts or Social Networks for personal or professional use using the “Child Awareness Project” name or logo without prior written approval from the Director of Marketing.
NON-SECTARIAN, NONPARTISAN SPEECH AND ACTION
To maintain Child Awareness Project’s independence and credibility and to preserve its status as a non-sectarian and nonpartisan organisation, personal communications by Child Awareness Project representatives on sectarian or partisan matters should not be directly or indirectly attributed to or reasonably interpreted as statements by Child Awareness Project. Remember to use a disclaimer such as “my personal views and do not represent those of Child Awareness Project.”
USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA DURING FIELD VISITS
All representatives or official guests of Child Awareness Project on project visits involving children must be advised of the terms of this Social Media Policy. Once at the project, there should be a verbal presentation made to the guests regarding appropriate conduct.
IN CASE OF DOUBT, MISTAKES, OR SUSPECTED POLICY VIOLATIONS
If you make a mistake in any Social Media, you publish about Child Awareness Project, quickly make any necessary corrections/deletions, immediately advise your manager, and notify the Director of Marketing if necessary. If you are unsure of any part of this policy, or what may be posted or not posted, please reach out to the Marketing Department (info@thecapro.org) If you witness or suspect a policy violation, you can immediately write to info@thecapro.org regarding the same.
CONSEQUENCES OF POLICY VIOLATION
Violation of Child Awareness Project policies may result in termination of the representative involved in the matter if found guilty. Any person who is aware of a possible violation of Child Awareness Project policies has the right and responsibility and is strongly encouraged, to report such breaches so Child Awareness Project can respond rapidly and take appropriate action.
1 “Child or Children” is not qualified only as a beneficiary; rather, this term is inclusive of all persons under the age of 18
2 Sexual harm of anyone under 18 is a violation of this policy. Sexual harm of any beneficiary, irrespective of age, is a violation of our code of conduct.
3 Exploitation of anyone benefitting from Child Awareness Project programs or activities is a violation of the code of conduct.
4 Social Media policy can be found here
5 See Social Media Policy
6 As defined by the Social Media Policy
