Renfrew County will continue to post information items on social media channels like Facebook, Instagram and X.
But it doesn’t want to know what you think about them.
County council agreed last week to turn off comments on all county posts.
The decision came after county staff proposed a “hybrid approach” to the issue.
Staff had drafted a “social media commenting and moderation protocol” that would have allowed other users to make comments on “low-risk content” while shutting down comments on “high-risk topics.”
Comments would remain on, for example, for posts regarding “community celebrations and positive recognition,” tourism and recreation, community events and notices, and “structured engagement posts” with “clear instructions and links.”
Comments would be turned off for “high-risk posts” about budgets and taxes, emergency services and public safety messages, service disruptions, “procurement, RFPs, (and) tenders,” human resources or staffing matters, “sensitive or personal situations,” and “topics likely to generate misinformation or conflict.”
During discussion at the county’s corporate services committee last week, CAO Craig Kelley said the protocol was drafted because staff had no “standard operating procedure” on how to deal with social media comments.
“As the report outlines, (and) as we all know, social media can be a tricky thing,” Kelley said.
“While we’re happy to engage the public on a very regular basis, unfortunately what’s happening is some very negative and hateful messages are surfacing through several of our social media channels and the posting of misinformation or disinformation on a continual basis…”
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