DOD issues first-ever social media policy

Even though the advent of social media dates back to at least 1997, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) never had an agency-wide policy governing its use by military and civilian personnel. That is, until now.

In “Official Use of Social Media for Public Affairs Purposes” (DOD Instruction 5400.17), the Pentagon on Aug. 12 published formal policies and procedures on how best to use social media properties such as Facebook (established in 2004), Twitter (2006), Instagram (2010) and other “official” accounts on social media platforms. An aim of the 27-page policy is to maintain high ethical and professional standards in DOD’s communications with the public.

“It’s long overdue,” conceded Andy Oare, director of digital media for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), in a DOD News blog post published Aug. 15. “There have been efforts in the past to do this, but in an organization of this size and magnitude, you need to fully coordinate and ensure all viewpoints are heard and represented. We wanted to make sure the services were collaborators from the very beginning.”

Previous DOD social media policies had more narrowly addressed how DOD personnel could safely use social media. And some service branches and DOD components maintained separate social media guidance.

But DOD’s Oare said this is the first policy to cover how — and how not — to use such channels in public affairs.

“Social media has an effect on every one of our service members, civilians, contractors and their families — whether they run an official account or have never heard of Twitter,” Oare told DOD News. “We owe it to all of them to have one central policy that provides a clearly articulated standard of operation and accountability.” 

Although the new policy could take precedence over established social media policies, Oare said DOD commands and components aren’t prohibited from producing additional, specific guidance on social media usage.

“We deliberately wrote it in a collaborative manner, and it encourages component heads to continue establishing component-specific social media regulations,” Oare said. “Our aim is not to be prescriptive or restrictive, but rather to lay out some commonsense rules that simply have not been formally articulated at this level.” 

Recruitment marketing via social media not covered

An exception is made for social media channels used for marketing purposes — these types of accounts remain governed by a separate policy: DOD Instruction 1304.35, titled “Military Marketing.” This no doubt was a relief to military recruiters relying on social media amid “the most challenging recruiting environment since the All-Volunteer Force was established in 1973,” as a recent Army memo put it. The military marketing instruction allows recruiters to engage in “an aggressive program of advertising and market research that targets prospective recruits and individuals influencing prospective recruits.”

The new DOD-wide instruction also allows public affairs’ social media accounts to amplify military recruitment posts.

Military and civilian personnel engaged in other DOD public affairs communications on social media must follow the new instruction. This includes members of OSD, military departments, offices of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff, Combatant Commands, DOD Office of Inspector General, defense agencies, DOD field activities, and all other DOD organizations and entities. The instruction spells out who is responsible for enforcing the new rules.

Private use of social media among areas covered

The instruction covers the following three key areas:

Core principles of social media use within DOD. Among other guidance, this section states that DOD uses social media to be transparent with and disseminate information to the public, and that mishandling social media sites harms the government’s reputation and relationships, in the United States and abroad. The rules make clear that DOD personnel can have personal, nonofficial accounts but can’t use them to imply that private content is DOD-sanctioned or endorsed. Disclaimers should be used to reduce confusion or doubt, the instruction says.

Procedures on managing social media account records. This area spells out how to retain, dispose of, manage, and transition social media content and/or accounts; how to handle features such as direct messaging; and how to deal with cyber vandalism and imposter accounts.

Guidance on DOD personnel’s use of personal social media accounts. Among other areas, this section covers rules against distributing nonpublic information through personal accounts; how to make sure personal accounts are clearly marked (a sample disclaimer is provided); and when it’s OK to forward, like, and link to official DOD information from personal accounts.

The instruction adds: “A personal social media account must not be an avenue for friends, followers, or private contacts to gain access to DOD programs or seek action from DOD officials in a manner not available to the general public.” The rules also prohibit DOD personnel from using their official position for private financial gain or commercial endorsements.

DOD plans to review and update the guidance to make sure it’s current and relevant, the DOD News post said.

Learn more

• Read the full DOD Instruction 5400.17: https://rly.pt/3Rjf1uS

• Read “DOD Releases First Departmentwide Social Media Policy,” DOD News, Aug. 15, 2022: https://rly.pt/3TwGTOe