Comment on Disclosure Best Practices Checklist 2: Personal/Unofficial Blogging and Outreach

Focus: Best practices for employees and employers related to personal blogs and personal social media participation that talk about company-related issues. These are intended to supplement existing employee policies.

For personal blogs or social media interactions:

1. If employees write anything related to the business of their employer on personal pages, posts, and comments, they will clearly identify their business affiliation.
2. The manner of disclosure can be flexible as long as it is clear to the average reader, directly connected to the relevant post, or provides a means of communicating further (Example disclosure methods could include: usernames that include the company name, link to bio or about me page, or statement in the post itself “I work for __<company>___ and this is my personal opinion.”)
3. Employees will specifically clarify which posts/comments are their own opinions vs. official corporate statements.
4. Writing which does not mention work-related topics does not need to mention the employment relationship.
5. If employees blog anonymously they should not discuss matters related to the business of their employer. If employer-related topics are mentioned, they should disclose their affiliation with the company.