Social media: Should there be a limit to what journalists post? (Social media is a cousin to journalism)

The use of social media raises both philosophical and practical questions for news agencies. Where do we draw the line? The question often asked is usually self defeating; because, once you create an account as a journalist, it is assumed that you know which lines you won’t cross. Philosophically, yes, journalists are rightfully barred from choosing sides while reporting. This means that a journalist’s opinion on Facebook or Twitter is likely to be interpreted by the audience as a form of bias. Some news organisations go as far as banning journalists from “friending” and “liking” political candidates or causes, arguing that this may create a perception that the journalists are advocates. This form of bias will exist, just as many journalists have witnessed, even when they have disclaimers like “my opinions are mine”. Even more telling, news organisations, governments, corporations and powerful individuals have often imposed forms of censorship, or created conditions in which people perform self-censorship for their own job safety. Therefore, looking at what journalists from Rwanda and the region post sometimes, most of them (and yours truly) are guilty of not playing by the “ethical” rulebook at their workplace. If they were fired for the “misconduct” of stating their opinions on politics or social affairs, some newsrooms would be empty. On the other side, practically, journalists are people - real people with feelings. And despite their openly critical role in society, they crave to reach out, to interact with their audience and to convey their truest feelings and beliefs just like anybody else. And, by the way, what are journalists there for? What would be their relevance if they idly looked on as forces of evil maximise the power of social media to pursue their agenda? True journalists are agents of goodwill and should leverage their privileged position in society to influence things for the better. So, this causes a dilemma. Should journalists adhere to the social media “dos and don’ts” stipulated by their employers, or are such guidelines breaching the fundamental human freedoms of free expression? To freely express one’s knowledge, interpretations and opinions is protected by the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights – however, it won’t stop employers from firing or demoting journalists who are caught in a wave of critical debates on social media. Therefore, there is need to re-evaluate some stances. This platform has revolutionised news dissemination so much that “old school” mindsets have been left struggling to understand how unconfirmed news makes it to the public eye. For fundamental freedoms of expression to be meaningful, employers should open up to some realism. For starters, a journalist should have the autonomy to state on social media that they are in favour of or against a cause, and this should not matter whether they express themselves strongly or not. They should have the freedom to do so as long their accounts are personal and not described as work accounts. @RushAfrican on Twitter