Public servants’ use of personal social media: Tools to help you assess the post
Guidance on how to responsibly use personal social media accounts while maintaining the integrity and impartiality of the federal public service.
On this page
Questions to ask before posting
In this section
- What is the content of the post? Does it constitute an opinion of a government policy or program?
- Can you anticipate how the post will be perceived by others?
- Will your social media activity have an impact on your work environment?
- How could this post impact your professional reputation?
- Can you trust the source of the social media content?
- Are you using a hashtag, phrase or expression in your social media posts?
- What type of content are you amplifying or engaging with?
- Are you engaging in a personal enterprise with a profile on social media?
- Are you an influencer, streamer, blogger or other social media personality, paid or unpaid?
- Are there other policies or professional codes of conduct that apply to you that can guide you?
What is the content of the post? Does it constitute an opinion of a government policy or program?
Why this is important
As a professional, non-partisan and impartial public service, we provide the government with evidence-based advice and options on policies, programs and actions, and then we loyally implement government decisions. While taking the considerations outlined in the Key considerations tab into account, we should be careful when commenting publicly on partisan policy proposals or matters that are up for debate in Parliament.
We also should be careful when publicly critiquing (positively or negatively) the government of the day or any political party’s policies or positions. Before you post, ask yourself whether your post is an opinion that would cause a reasonable person to question your ability to perform your duties in a non-partisan and impartial manner.
Can you anticipate how the post will be perceived by others?
Why this is important
Perception is just as important as reality when it comes to how the public views the public service. Ask yourself how your post could be perceived by a reasonable person. Will they question whether you are able to perform your duties in a non-partisan and impartial manner? Does the post imply criticism of the decisions and policies of the Government of Canada?
Will your social media activity have an impact on your work environment?
Why this is important
We want our workplace to be safe, healthy, inclusive, accessible and representative of the public we serve. Social media networks can be a great place to share resources and foster positive relationships. We can celebrate excellence, collaborate and lift each other up.
Public servants must never engage in bullying, harassment or discrimination on social media. Consider the impact that your words will have on your colleagues, past or present, and your work environment. Would you say those words in the presence of a colleague? Would you tell that story in front of your manager?
How could this post impact your professional reputation?
Why this is important
It is incredibly difficult to erase content from the internet. A post could harm the perception of your judgment or integrity. Consider how a post could be interpreted if you take on a leadership role or new responsibilities.
Can you trust the source of the social media content?
Why this is important
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the volume of misinformation, disinformation and content generated using artificial intelligence online. Share content from trusted and reliable sources to avoid potentially sharing false or misleading information.
As AI tools become more sophisticated, it is becoming harder to differentiate between real and fake images, audio, and videos. Breaking news of global and domestic crises, controversies, and conflicts frequently come at a speed and scale that makes fact-checking incredibly difficult. As public servants, we should act with integrity, not spread disinformation, avoid contributing to harmful online discourse, and do our part to safeguard Canada’s democratic system.
Are you using a hashtag, phrase or expression in your social media posts?
Why this is important
Jumping on a trending topic can be a great way to share content and reach more people. You may wish to search hashtags before using them to avoid linking to content you didn’t mean to.
What type of content are you amplifying or engaging with?
Why this is important
Sharing, tagging or liking content carries similar risks to posting the material yourself. As we cannot always predict what will go viral, or how our posts might be taken out of context, we need to be careful about our online engagement, where our actions are more visible, more enduring, and much more likely to affect public trust in the public service—as well as our own professional reputation and credibility.
Posting, sharing, tagging or liking content or photos that may be in violation of the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector or your organization’s code of conduct may lead to disciplinary actions.
Examples of inappropriate content include content that is racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic or defamatory, containing or referring to any obscenity or pornography, threatening, violent, intimidating or harassing.
Are you engaging in a personal enterprise with a profile on social media?
Why this is important
In addition to declaring your personal enterprise and complying with all steps and obligations of the Directive on Conflict of Interest, you must ensure that your personal enterprise’s social media presence does not call into question your ability to perform your duties in a fair, transparent, non-partisan and impartial fashion. Furthermore, social media activities related to a personal enterprise must be conducted outside of your working hours and using non-government devices.
Are you an influencer, streamer, blogger or other social media personality, paid or unpaid?
Why this is important
Being in these types of roles on social media may be considered to be an outside activity or employment. You need to ensure that your role does not call into question your ability to perform your duties in a fair, non-partisan and impartial fashion.
You should also assess, with your manager, whether there is any real, potential or apparent conflict of interest between your public service job and your social media role, and comply with all steps and requirements under the Directive on Conflict of Interest, as applicable, and your organizational procedures. Remember that the greater your visibility on social media, the more weight and reach your social media activity has.
Are there other policies or professional codes of conduct that apply to you that can guide you?
Why this is important
Some policies and professional codes of conduct may provide guidance about posting or otherwise interacting with content on social media, such as the Scientific Integrity Policy, or the bar association code of professional conduct.
Examples of appropriate, risky and inappropriate use of personal social media accounts
In this section
The following are some non-exhaustive examples of social media use that have been categorized as appropriate, potentially risky or inappropriate.
Appropriate use of social media
Examples of appropriate use of personal social media accounts (always only if the content does not call into question your non-partisanship and impartiality):
- networking and building connections with other public servants
- celebrating excellence, such as sharing news of awards and recognition
- sharing factual and publicly available information about government programs, events or initiatives
- sharing job opportunities
- sharing publicly available content from trusted sources, such as news articles, academic journals or other professional content relevant to your field, while respecting copyright
- activities to inform yourself as a voter, such as following a party or candidate, tuning into a stream of a town hall or debates
- sharing pictures of or information about your pet, vacation or a family event
- sharing recipes, tips, hacks and other information not related to your work
Potentially risky use of social media
Examples of potentially risky use of personal social media accounts, where public servants should exercise judgment:
- debating emergent or controversial issues, such as social or geopolitical issues
- commenting about our own or another jurisdiction’s government or leaders
- liking, sharing or responding to content from partisan social media accounts
- creating political posts
- creating, signing or sharing a petition in protest of the Government of Canada, policy area, or minister
- creating or participating in an online community critical of your organization, policy area, or minister
- creating, sharing or liking posts criticizing decisions of your organization
Inappropriate use of social media
Examples of inappropriate use of personal social media accounts:
- bullying, discrimination, aggressive behaviour, or maliciously sharing the private information of another person (doxxing)
- representing personal opinions as those of the organization or the government, including creating posts or content that include the official symbols of the Government of Canada
- deliberately posting or sharing content about the Government of Canada you know to be false or misleading
- communicating about Government of Canada business to benefit a friend or family member, for example, information on an upcoming program or grant opportunity that has not been released to the public yet
- sharing Crown copyrighted content without properly indicating the source
- endorsing or providing an unfair advantage to a vendor, business, stakeholder or individual in their interaction with the government
- sharing business information that is not publicly available, sensitive information or personal information held by the Government of Canada (including photographs)
- criticizing a specific manager or colleague’s work, ethics or behaviour in a manner that results in workplace tension
- using personal social media accounts to avoid requirements that apply to official accounts (security, use of both official languages, information management, Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act)
- engaging in political activities during working hours, on government premises or using government resources
- conducting work on your personal account, such as answering questions about your program
Public servants who engage in any illegal activities online, including defamation, copyright infringement, hate speech, harassment or violence, are responsible for their actions under applicable laws.
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