Rules surrounding politics on personal social media?

nomad556

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Pretty self explanatory. I'm a candidate for 2026. I've always posted political stuff on my accounts because I enjoy good conversation, but I'm kind of concerned about it now seeing as I haven't found a rule book about what I can/cannot do on my private social.

What's acceptable? I don't endorse any groups, talk about extremism, or really say anything all that controversial. I'm just a basic libertarian. I also don't post political content a lot, just from time to time when there's a major story, and I don't post anything criticizing the government/government officials (bc I know that can get you in trouble).
 
A place to start your research:



Once you put on the uniform, you are now living by 24/7 rules that are much different from your current civilian status. Military members can take part in some political activities but within certain guidelines. There are Army directives about what military members can do. You will learn about these. If in doubt, there will be chain of command and other official sources to consult.

Always think through about what you plan to post several times, and whether it could be misinterpreted. Do your research before re-posting items from other internet sources, as they may not be factual.

This is a great reminder to go back and review your social media. Curate your timeline. Remove photos that no longer represent who you are today and where you hope to be going.

You are smart to be thinking about this.
 
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No one I know who posts on social media forums thinks their thoughts are extreme. In fact they are all middle of road moderates. :)

Those with more extreme views are those we moderates argue with :)

For me one definition of a really good classmate or officer who I served with or under is that after months or years of knowing them I still would have no idea what their politics were. That to me is the sign of a professional.

My advice——start practicing to be a professional now.

I asked my grad-officer kid what kind of political discussions the officers had on ships. He being very political.

”we had none we were professionals”

Never too early to start practicing.

Edited: years ago I advised a young doctor who had submitted a taxi recite that looked to be in error. His answer that he had legit expenses and the taxi was the way to recoup was not a surprise.

I explained that decades from now he might be sitting in front of a congressional committee going thru a confirmation hearing. You don’t want anyone bringing up an obviously false taxi recite.

What ever nonsense you are yacking about today on political discussions those comments will be there 40 years from now when you might be going thru confirmation hearings.
 
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Just to add to what has been written.
What was acceptable when I was a 2LT… a few years ago…might not be today. As I’ve often written, thank God there were no cell phones or social media when I was a 2LT. So what you write today may seem harmless, but who knows how it will age.
Best just to avoid politics on social media. Perhaps discuss amongst your peers, but not on social media. Military members are suppose to be apolitical.
 
There is all sorts of guidance out there in terms of what military service members can and cannot do in terms of social media posts, which includes what you "like", "share", "retweet" or comment on.

The challenge to me seems to be that social media has become a way for people to get noticed and provide some form of declaration of who you are and what you believe. And there is a bit of a persona, a "keyboard tough guy" approach where people feel empowered to really emote vociferously because they believe they are beyond reach if they are behind the keyboard.

Each service branch has specific guidance, and while I love the Navy, we have turned our guidance into death by powerpoint or some tortured JAG-heavy word salad. (sorry Jaglvr ;) )

One of the better guides I have seen is from the Marine Corps. Attached below. Pretty straight forward and easy to follow.
 

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There is all sorts of guidance out there in terms of what military service members can and cannot do in terms of social media posts, which includes what you "like", "share", "retweet" or comment on.

The challenge to me seems to be that social media has become a way for people to get noticed and provide some form of declaration of who you are and what you believe. And there is a bit of a persona, a "keyboard tough guy" approach where people feel empowered to really emote vociferously because they believe they are beyond reach if they are behind the keyboard.

Each service branch has specific guidance, and while I love the Navy, we have turned our guidance into death by powerpoint or some tortured JAG-heavy word salad. (sorry Jaglvr ;) )

One of the better guides I have seen is from the Marine Corps. Attached below. Pretty straight forward and easy to follow.
thanks for the pdf. I'll take a look at it.
 
My Marine son stopped all use of social media as an NROTC midshipmen. That way he doesn't have to worry about following rules, or what others might post on his timeline.
 
Excellent advice provided above.
Let me add that if you are going to keep your accounts and esp have them be open and identifiable as your accounts; you will benefit from adding a statement about 'Views are my own & do not represent any agency." (I am verified on Twitter but do get called into the office over things I post that get picked up by national media.)
You do not want your social media posts to draw attention to you or have blow back on you. You may wish to lock your accounts so that only family and friends can see what you post.
 
Also, remember that after graduating a brand new 2LT was booted out of the Army for posting his political views on social media.
So, keep your pages, if you wish but consider limiting the setting and tailoring your messages.
 
You are best off leaving politics out of your social media posts. Limit yourself to the fun, crazy, off the wall stuff that you experience while at the Academy and you will not be in any danger of crossing an unacceptable line. You are free to have discussions about your views with your peers while there, but making your views public in social media is a risky game. My son (who just finished plebe year) said they almost never talk about political stuff amongst his core group of friends.
 
Simply put, avoid it. And for certain when you are a cadet avoid it. Opinions and feelings and tolerances are changing and evolving so fast and can be so polarizing that I might even go so far as to say delete what you can. No need to panic, im not certain of the official stance on this. But I will say that for the most cadets keep their opinions pretty close to the vest except for their inner circle. And they would be leery of committing anything in writing with their name attached to it.
 
Remember, there are CONSEQUENCES to everything. Some intended, some not. Some good, some not.

You don’t get to choose the consequence, either.

And you can’t ‘take it back’. What’s done cannot be undone. Or unshared. Or ‘unviraled’. While you can control what you post, you cannot control other peoples reactions.

There are consequences to everything…
 
Excellent advice provided above.
Let me add that if you are going to keep your accounts and esp have them be open and identifiable as your accounts; you will benefit from adding a statement about 'Views are my own & do not represent any agency." (I am verified on Twitter but do get called into the office over things I post that get picked up by national media.)
You do not want your social media posts to draw attention to you or have blow back on you. You may wish to lock your accounts so that only family and friends can see what you post.
That’s great advice, I will be adding this to my bio ASAP!

My account is already private though, so don’t have to worry about that
 
That’s great advice, I will be adding this to my bio ASAP!

My account is already private though, so don’t have to worry about that
Until someone screenshots it.
Also, do not post anything that you would not want a screen shot of to be shown to your boss, your parents, or at a future confirmation hearing.
Exactly what I had started to type WRT nothing is private if someone can screenshot it.
 
Until someone screenshots it.

Exactly what I had started to type WRT nothing is private if someone can screenshot it.
Yup, I agree. But having a private account is a good first step just for personal privacy!
 
No social media account is truly private. Stuff has a way of getting out. And it's not usually the stuff that casts you in a good light.

My advice would be to assume that anything you post will somehow find its way out into the public domain. And consider that, as an officer, you will be leading a diverse group of soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines. They will come from a broad spectrum of backgrounds, upbringing and social, political and religious beliefs. Will what you post tend to alienate you in any of their eyes? Will it cause hard feelings? Will it cause someone to want to undermine you? Will it keep them from coming to you for help when they need it? If so, is it worth posting?
 
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