Trump bans EPA employees from giving social media updates • Hacker News Board

Re: Trump bans EPA employees from giving social media updates

#21

Post by cyberferret » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 1:26 AM UTC

barney54 wrote: post #15

cyberferret wrote: post #6

I am looking for reasonable explanations for this, but keep coming up blank. I grew up in a country where this sort of censorship and fact hiding was the norm, and hated it. I now live in a country that is much freer, but for the first time since 1938, no longer has an active US ambassador, with no replacement in sight, since President Trump fired all US ambassadors to foreign countries on the afternoon of his inaugu…

Here's an explanation--the new management of the agencies want to review the social media policies.

In my line of business, I get to inherit web and mobile apps from other developers all the time.

One thing I never do is to completely shut down the app and take it offline while I scour through the code to ensure everything is ok. Not unless there is a glaring problem or security hole that is already evident.

It is ironic that the person giving the orders to restrict his subordinates from tweeting can still continue tweeting his stream of consciousness stuff carte blanche...

Re: Trump bans EPA employees from giving social media updates

#22

Post by Malician » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 1:30 AM UTC

tristanj wrote: post #16

Title appears to be clickbait. The original AP story [1] says this restriction applies to the agency's social media accounts. It does not say this restriction applies to employee's personal social media accounts, as thehill.com implies. This is the relevant section from the AP article: > Emails sent to EPA staff and reviewed by The Associated Press also detailed specific prohibitions banning press releases, blog upda…

I read the headline in the same manner as the AP section.

Re: Trump bans EPA employees from giving social media updates

#23

Post by hawkice » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 1:30 AM UTC

bluetwo wrote: post #17

OK, I just watched for at least the 20th time some republican tell a TV audience that EPA regulations have gotten "way out of control" and no one will ask "EXACTLY WHICH REGULATIONS?"

To be fair, the audience for that comment isn't aware of _any_ EPA regulations and has no curiosity about it. They see the EPA not as a complex organization with multiple goals and many tools to help them achieve those goals, but as a part of something fundamentally wrong-headed.

Re: Trump bans EPA employees from giving social media updates

#24

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 1:31 AM UTC

cyberferret wrote: post #6

I am looking for reasonable explanations for this, but keep coming up blank. I grew up in a country where this sort of censorship and fact hiding was the norm, and hated it. I now live in a country that is much freer, but for the first time since 1938, no longer has an active US ambassador, with no replacement in sight, since President Trump fired all US ambassadors to foreign countries on the afternoon of his inaugu…

[deleted]

Re: Trump bans EPA employees from giving social media updates

#25

Post by DanielBMarkham » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 1:31 AM UTC

cyberferret wrote: post #6

I am looking for reasonable explanations for this, but keep coming up blank. I grew up in a country where this sort of censorship and fact hiding was the norm, and hated it. I now live in a country that is much freer, but for the first time since 1938, no longer has an active US ambassador, with no replacement in sight, since President Trump fired all US ambassadors to foreign countries on the afternoon of his inaugu…

Meta: people say they keep looking for explanations. Explanations are offered. Then the explanations are downvoted and an argument ensues.

It may be fine that you don't understand or like the explanations, but saying "I really don't understand X" and then punishing anybody who tries to explain it isn't much of a way to have a reasonable public discourse. (This wasn't directed at you, just at the community at large. I've seen several of these comment questions and they never end well. Might be time for a politics pause for a day or two)

Re: Trump bans EPA employees from giving social media updates

#26

Post by sqeaky » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 1:31 AM UTC

This is surprisly reasonable compared to what I thought it was going to say when I heard about it first from others. The first I heard it was "A total media blackout" on the EPA and other departments.

This article just says, that buzzfeed says, that goverment employees can't post on Twitter and Facebook claiming their personal opinion is policy. Unless I misread something, let me know if I did, or if this article is just wrong.

Edit: Other sources indicate other kinds of communications are stopped also, it seems that it could be totally nefarious or just part of some kind of re-organization. Are scientific papers block or not? Everything seems confused, but the general tone seems to be hugely negative, what do know for certain?

Re: Trump bans EPA employees from giving social media updates

#27

Post by monksy » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 1:31 AM UTC

some-guy wrote: post #9

Also happening with the National Parks Service [0]. [0] http://gizmodo.com/national-park-service-banned-from-tweetin...

Not sure I disagree with that order. The NPS intentionally retweeted a political statement. (Showing the crowds for Obama's inauguration and Trumps) It was a very stupid thing to do.

Re: Trump bans EPA employees from giving social media updates

#28

Post by barney54 » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 1:34 AM UTC

Avshalom wrote: post #18

barney54 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's an explanation--the new management of the agencies want to review the social media policies.

> social media policies social media policies is sci-fi way of saying "people saying things" though.

True, but this isn't a case of people speaking from their own point of view. The social media account represent the Departments in an official capacity.

Re: Trump bans EPA employees from giving social media updates

#29

Post by Pyxl101 » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 1:34 AM UTC

monksy wrote: post #27

some-guy wrote: post #9

Also happening with the National Parks Service [0]. [0] http://gizmodo.com/national-park-service-banned-from-tweetin...

Not sure I disagree with that order. The NPS intentionally retweeted a political statement. (Showing the crowds for Obama's inauguration and Trumps) It was a very stupid thing to do.

Came here to make the same point:

It's not appropriate for the official social media account of a government agency to tweet political content that criticizes the current President. That's going too far, and I'm not surprised at all that they were told to shut it.

Re: Trump bans EPA employees from giving social media updates

#30

Post by kafkaesq » Wed, Jan 25, 2017, 1:36 AM UTC

barney54 wrote: post #15

cyberferret wrote: post #6

I am looking for reasonable explanations for this, but keep coming up blank. I grew up in a country where this sort of censorship and fact hiding was the norm, and hated it. I now live in a country that is much freer, but for the first time since 1938, no longer has an active US ambassador, with no replacement in sight, since President Trump fired all US ambassadors to foreign countries on the afternoon of his inaugu…

Here's an explanation--the new management of the agencies want to review the social media policies.

The new management of the agencies want to review the social media policies.

With the aim of installing Orwellian-style thought control practices† at every level, affecting every last publicity statement, blog post, and tweet. You forgot that part.

† Based on what his press secretary (and other lackeys) attempted to have us believe about the size of the inaugural day crowds (and the millions of people who voted fraudulently in the past election) -- in addition to things Trump himself has said about climate change, and a whole bunch of other issues -- that's not hyperbole; that's quite literally what's happening.