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(B) Liking, Following, or Friending Candidates or Partisan Groups
Rule: Employees may not like, follow, or friend the social media account of a political party,
candidate in a partisan race, or partisan political group while on duty or in the workplace.
Example 1: You are at home after work and find the Instagram account of a partisan political
group. You may follow them on Instagram and like their posts.
Example 2: You are at work and looking at your private Facebook account on your personal
iPad. A Facebook friend shared the post of a candidate in a partisan race announcing that he or
she received an endorsement. You may not like, follow, or friend the candidate’s Facebook page
while on duty or in the workplace.
(C) Liking, Following, or Friending the Official Social Media Accounts of Government
Officials
Rule: Employees may continue to follow, be friends with, or like the official social media
accounts of government officials after those officials become candidates for reelection.
Example 1: You follow the official government Twitter account of the President or a Member of
Congress, who has just announced their candidacy for reelection. You may continue to follow
these official accounts.
(D) Using an Alias on Social Media
Rule: Employees may not use an alias on social media to engage in any activity that is directed
at the success or failure of a political party, candidate in a partisan race, or partisan political
group while on duty or in the workplace.
Example 1: Your name is John Smith, but you create a Facebook profile as John Jones. You are
at home after work and see that a Facebook friend posted a negative message about a candidate
in a partisan race. You may share or like that post.
Example 2: Your name is Jane Smith, but you create a Twitter account as Jane Jones. You are
at work, on duty, and looking at your alias Twitter account on your personal cell phone. An
actor you follow on Twitter posted a negative message about a political party. You may not like
or retweet that message either as Jane Smith or Jane Jones while on duty or in the workplace.
(E) Profile Pictures on Social Media Accounts
Rule: Employees may display a political party or current campaign logo or the photograph of a
candidate in a partisan race as a profile picture on personal Facebook or Twitter accounts;
however, they may not post, share, tweet, or retweet on those accounts while on duty or in the
workplace.
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Because a profile picture accompanies most actions on social media, employees would not be permitted, while on
duty or in the workplace, to post, share, tweet, or retweet any items on Facebook or Twitter, because each such action
would show their support for a political party, candidate in a partisan race, or partisan political group, even if the
content of the post, share, tweet, or retweet is not about those entities.