Social Media and Online

Key Responsibilities as Student Leaders:

Student groups are responsible for their own social media page as they are representative of your group and, by extension, the Students’ Union and University of York.

We expect that social media pages are:

• Professional, many members of the university community follow student group pages as well as external stakeholders. Do not post any content that could harm the reputation of your student group or York SU. This includes not posting inappropriate content on social media.

• Inclusive, remember your student group should promote a safe and welcoming environment for all students. This means considering the impact of what you are posting on different communities of students at the university.

• Moderated, you are responsible for ensuring that the comment sections on your page do not become an environment for bullying, harassment or hate speech. If it is on your page, it is your responsibility.

• Focused on your student group activity, the content you post should be about your activities, aims and committee. It should not be a place for personal content or views.

A reminder that any inappropriate content on your student group page could lead to action via the York SU Code of Conduct and consequences for the group and/or individuals involved.

A student’s personal page is for them to control the content that they wish to post. However if you have concerns that content is breaching the universities Regulation 7 on Non-Academic Misconduct, then you may wish to report this via Report & Support.

Advertising Socials

Not all students drink and many will be put off by advertising student social activities where participants appear heavily intoxicated. We strongly recommend that this is not the focus of any content that is publicly shared as it does not present an inclusive environment. This includes committee introduction posts.

Top Tips for Moderating Your Social Media

Spotting Hate Speech

The United Nations Strategy on Hate Speech defines hate speech as any communication (speech, writing, or behaviour) that attacks or uses discriminatory or pejorative language based on a person or group's identity. 

This identity can include race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation. It covers various online formats, including memes, images, text, and videos. 

If you spot this within your comment section, screenshot the evidence, report this to the social media channel, and delete/hide the comment.

Access and Sign Off Process

We recommend that all student group social media accounts are set up using your society gmail login. This means that they can be accessed by successive committees and aren’t linked to one particular committee member. We would also recommend that multiple committee members know the login details and are able to access content if required, rather than relying on one person if things go wrong. Old committee members should have accessed removed and passwords updated regularly.

It is best practice to have a sign off process for your social media process that means multiple people view content. Typically this would involve content being created by the social media officer or relevant role and then approved by a secretary or other executive member before posting. This helps to ensure the content is appropriate for your channels.

Using Social Media Platform Tools

Instagram

Instagram has several native features and tools to help with moderation, such as:

• You can create a custom blacklist of specific words, phrases, numbers, or emojis. Comments containing these terms will be automatically hidden from your posts.

• Instagram uses built-in detection to automatically filter and hide comments that contain common offensive words, phrases, or emojis. It's not always accurate, but can be helpful. 

• You can find out more from Instagram here or by going to your profile > ‘Settings’ > ‘Help’.

TikTok

TikTok also has a number of features that you can make the most of, such as:

• Filtering comments to all need approval, to remove comments containing custom list of keywords or to use their own automatic filter.

• You can appoint moderators to livestreams, muting or blocking disruptive viewers.

• You can find out more from TikTok support here or by going to your account.

Social Media Training

Not sure where to start when promoting your student group? 

Check out our training video, delivered by our York SU Communications team! 

Contact your link staff member or our Marketing Team (communications@yorksu.org)