JAMAICA | PNP wants Social Media Policy for Government Officials Amidst Repeated Blunders

KINGSTON, Jamaica. May 26, 2024: The People's National Party (PNP) has  again called on the government, and in particular,  the Minister with Responsibility for Information and Digital Transformation, Senator. Dana Morris Dixon, to urgently address the need for a comprehensive social media policy for government officials.

A statement from the PNP says the call has come against the  need to ensure proper management and oversight of government social media pages and to maintain the integrity of official communications.

It follows an incident involving a photograph posted on the Instagram page of Sports and Culture minister Olivia Grange.

The caption of the photograph identified the Prime Minister Andrew Holness, and Minister Grange but failed to recognise former Prime Minister Percival James Patterson, the longest-serving Prime Minister of Jamaica.

Despite significant public outcry, the caption remained  unchanged 14 hours later, the PNP said.

"This incident is not isolated. Recently, the nation was deeply troubled when Mr Alando Terrelonge's social media page posted a photograph defacing the images of former Prime Ministers PJ Patterson and Portia Simpson-Miller using emojis while leaving the images of Jamaica Labour Party Prime Ministers untouched.

Mr Terrelonge attributed this action to a staffer, yet the photograph remained on the page for several hours, causing significant public distress," the PNP reminded.

In light of these events, the PNP is reiterating its call for a robust social media policy. This policy should:

• Streamline Official Government Sources: Clearly differentiate between personal and official social media pages of government officials to avoid confusion. The public should be informed if a page is personal/partisan and not to be treated as an official government communication channel. Management of personal pages should not be funded by public resources.
• Primary Spaces for Public Information: Ensure that official social media pages of ministries, departments, and agencies of the government serve as the primary sources of public information, minimising the risk of misinformation or misrepresentation from personal pages. These pages should be current, managed by accountable officers, and avoid communication gaps that force the public to seek information from personal or partisan pages of government officials.
• Oversight and Management: Implement strict guidelines for the management and oversight of social media pages maintained by government officials to uphold professionalism and respect in all communications.

Public actors in social media, including media practitioners, have been calling on the government to clearly indicate where social media pages reflect personal views versus the views of the government and its ministries. They also demand proper accountability for breaches of protocol, misinformation, or other missteps.

We are calling on the government to clarify whether the staffers often blamed for these misrepresentations, mishaps, and derelictions of duty are government-paid staffers. If they are, we demand to know what consequences have been or will be levied against them for these failures or for politicising government communication.

The PNP believes that a well-defined social media policy is crucial for maintaining the dignity of our public figures and the trust of the Jamaican people in their government. We urge the Hon. Sen. Morris Dixon to act swiftly in addressing this matter and to provide clear guidelines to prevent further instances of disrespect and miscommunication.

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