Department of Interior Bureaus reportedly banned from using Twitter

Gizmodo is reporting that all bureaus in the Department of Interior, including the U.S. Park Service, have been banned from using Twitter. This may or may not be related to a retweet by the NPS on Friday that showed pictures of the crowds at the 2009 and 2017 Presidential inaugurations.

From Gizmodo. Click to enlarge.

Gizmodo said the text below is from an internal NPS email:

All:

We have received direction from the Department through [the Washington Support Office] that directs all [Department of Interior] bureaus to immediately cease use of government Twitter accounts until further notice.

PWR parks that use Twitter as part of their crisis communications plans need to alter their contingency plans to accommodate this requirement. Please ensure all scheduled posts are deleted and automated cross-platform social media connections to your twitter accounts are severed. The expectation is that there will be absolutely no posts to Twitter.

In summary, this Twitter stand down means we will cease use of Twitter immediately. However, there is no need to suspend or delete government accounts until directed.

This does not affect use of other approved social media platforms. We expect further guidance to come next week and we will share accordingly.

Thanks for your help!

Presumably this ban includes messages about road conditions and real time information about fires and other emergencies.

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UPDATE at 2:47 p.m. MT January 21, 2017: The Washington Post also reported on this story.

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UPDATE at 10 a.m. MT January 22,2017: As the submitted comments began to veer away from the decision to ban tweets that could include important, urgent information for citizens, and the conversation moved into the political realm, we closed comments for this article.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

15 thoughts on “Department of Interior Bureaus reportedly banned from using Twitter”

  1. The DOI took a cheap shot and thought they were dealing with someone who did not have a spine. Would it be better for the DOI to have that communication stream open to assist the public? Yes. But they have proven to be like a teenager with a car that stayed out past curfew. They cannot be trusted now. They will have to earn Trump’s trust again. They self limited their organization and will now have to deal with the consequences.

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    1. Wow. Why is it wrong to have posted the picture of the crowds? It doesn’t mean anything significant? Twitter has become a strong method to communicate and emergency response agencies should not curtail an important form of warning citizens from potential harm because it might have hurt someones feelings. I feel like we should get President Trump and his supporters a safe space.

      If they don’t like a post, simply call up the DOI and have them take that post down, or invest in a backbone and accept a little criticism.

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      1. It’s obvious that some employee at the DOI was trying to draw a conclusion about the crowds. They were getting political in an arena where they were supposed to be neutral. They did not think Trump had the backbone to make an example out of them. They were wrong. They’re irresponsibility cost their department a valuable tool for communication. As for just taking it down and business as usual, how is Trump supposed to trust them to remain neutral forthwith? They now have a proven track record of violating that trust.

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        1. Oh I think you’re a little too paranoid. It was just an interesting picture referencing the work load they had that day. Big deal. Taking things personally and screaming like a child doesn’t make you look tough, just insecure. It’s too bad that the leader of the free world is afraid of negative comments.

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  2. I have never used twitter. Communication internal and external was fine before twitter ever came about. “This does not affect use of other approved social media platforms” , so it is not like all communications are being stopped. Twitter is neither good or bad. It is a tool that can be helpful or abused.

    It was not that long ago there was discussion on the use of cell phones on fires where tactical communications were being done vs. the use of radios. Policies were established to address the cell phones use.

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  3. Censorship relative to 1st Amendment rights does not apply here. These are official accounts, for official communications, not for retweeting snark.

    Hopefully they’ll be back up and running quickly with adults in charge.

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  4. This is ridiculous. So much for helping the public. Social media, including twitter, is a primary means of communication.

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  5. Unbelievable, if true. So much for doing your job using the normal tools of social media. A new era of repression as begun.

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