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PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Polk considers nixing social media public comment
If you want to sound-off on Polk County's social media pages, you might soon be out of luck. Commissioners are voting on a plan to completely shut down public comment sections across all their official accounts. FOX 13's Carla Bayron reports.
BARTOW, Fla. - Polk County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to turn off comments on the county government's official social media pages, saying misinformation, vulgar remarks and personal attacks were undermining the platforms' purpose of sharing public information.
Polk County social media changes
What they're saying:
The approved resolution applies to all 21 social media channels managed by the county government, according to the Polk County Board of County Commissioners.
PREVIOUS: Polk County Commission considers ending comments on official social media pages
Commissioner Bill Braswell praised the change, arguing that inaccurate claims posted in comment sections could confuse residents seeking information about county services, road closures and emergencies.
"The social media pages serve an important purpose: providing residents with timely, accurate information about county services, road closures, emergencies and other public business. Unfortunately, the comment sections too often undermine that purpose. Incorrect claims can create confusion about the very information we are trying to communicate, while vulgar remarks and personal attacks distract from the county information being provided through the social media accounts,’’ Braswell said. "Our responsibility is to provide reliable information. Turning off comments allows us to continue using social media to keep residents informed without attaching a county-hosted comment section that too often becomes a source of misinformation and abuse.’’
County officials said the change will not stop the county from posting updates on social media. Instead, the pages will serve as informational channels without public comment sections.
"Instead of being a public comment forum, our social media channels will be informational only,’’ Communications Division Director Amber Smith said. "Residents can also get information from our county website at polkfl.gov. We aren’t going to stop getting the information out to everyone, we are just trying to get rid of the distraction and potential danger of people posting erroneous information regarding essential operations and services. If we are posting information about a hurricane coming towards Polk County and someone posts false information about shelters or road conditions, it could lead to tragic results."
Sheriff's office account exclusion
Dig deeper:
The resolution does not cover accounts managed by independently elected constitutional officers, including the Polk County Sheriff's Office, according to the county.
The change follows a proposal discussed ahead of Tuesday's vote.
Public comment meeting options
What you can do:
Residents can still share their views during public comment periods at county commission meetings.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from public statements provided by the Polk County Board of County Commissioners, Commissioner Bill Braswell and Communications Division Director Amber Smith.