Kamchatka officials were obliged to use social networks according to the rules
The government of the Kamchatka Territory has developed rules for maintaining personal accounts of regional officials in social networks. Now ministers and leaders are required to devote at least 80% of posts to work topics, to avoid dry language, using polls, contests, promotions and hashtags. Officials complained to Kommersant that they were forced to coordinate future posts with the Information Policy Department, but Governor Vladimir Solodov denied this information. According to him, the rules should “motivate leaders to a policy of maximum openness.”
As it became known to Kommersant, in early April, the chairman of the government of the Kamchatka Territory, Alexander Kuznetsov, updated the rules for maintaining social networks for officials. The document appeared last summer, but then it concerned only the official accounts of the regional government and executive authorities in Instagram, Facebook and Odnoklassniki. Now the personal accounts of their leaders have come under its influence.
According to the updated rules (at the disposal of Kommersant), ministers are required to have one account and maintain it independently. If an official has several accounts, he must decide where he will post “personal information and information about official activities” and verify it.
The rules state that accounts should be filled with posts at least three times a week, while 80% of the content should be devoted to work topics and only 20% to personal ones.
When filling out accounts, officials must use materials in accordance with the “common brand” (photo and video materials, infographics, polls, contests, promotions, hashtags), and also use the “style typical for communication on social networks – written spoken language.” The rules recommend avoiding the publication of information “in the format of press releases”. Also, ministers are obliged to independently moderate user messages, if necessary, delete and blacklist their authors.
Control over the maintenance of accounts is carried out by the information policy department of the regional government. “The rules are necessary for a prompt response to messages affecting citizens' issues,” Deputy Minister of Civil Society, Youth and Information Policy Alla Golovan told Kommersant. However, the document states that the provisions of the federal law “On the Procedure for Considering Citizens' Appeals” do not apply to messages in social networks.
Several Kamchatka ministers, on condition of anonymity, told Kommersant that officials were required to coordinate their posts with the Information Policy Department.
“Instead of five minutes on a post, now you need to spend several hours on its approval, and then still moderate the comments. As if there is nothing else to do at work, ”one of them told Kommersant.
According to him, the rules affected personal accounts due to a number of unsuccessful speeches of officials in social networks. In particular, in January, the Minister of Tourism of the Kamchatka Territory Natalia Maksimenko posted on Instagram a message: “Do not waste energy on # energy vampires # negative thoughts # toxic people and other rabble.” The post caused a negative reaction from users, and the official had to make excuses. Sources of Kommersant say that it was this scandal that became the reason for toughening the rules and introducing a kind of censorship.
However, Governor Vladimir Solodov assured Kommersant that the approval of posts “is not required and is not expected”: “The resolution, on the contrary, is aimed at“ forcing ”- or rather, motivating leaders to actively work in social networks and pursue a policy of maximum openness. And do it regularly and efficiently. I have repeatedly spoken about the task for officials – “to get out of the trenches” in relations with citizens. “
Regional officials disagree with the governor.
“Yes, you need to communicate with people, but how effective is it? An employee of the regional government told Kommersant. “For me personally, it was a serious stress, I never understood and still don’t understand those who live on the Internet. I really have no time and not interested in doing this. And now all this nonsense needs to be coordinated ”.
Vladimir Solodov himself is active in social networks: he regularly conducts direct lines on social networks and uploads photos from business trips. In April 2020, while still acting governor, Mr. Solodov said that the effectiveness of the work of officials and their bonuses would be tied, among other things, to activity in social networks. In June, this standard was formalized.
Guzel Latypova, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
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