Good round-up in @CJR of @AP's poorly reasoned decision to fire 22 year-old Emily Wilder for unspecified violations of its social media policy. cjr.org/the_media_toda… These cases will keep coming until there's a rethink of the policies themselves.
Some places I would start: 1/
Some places I would start: 1/
By accepting the faulty premise that every public statement from a newsroom worker somehow implicates the company as a whole, you widen the attack surface for hostile actors who want to wreak as much havoc as they can. Instead of protecting the company, you're endangering it. 2/
An alternative is to combine common sense rules for social media — double check your facts, don't troll or needlessly antagonize, don't take positions for the heck of it — with freedom of speech. Which means journalists don't speak for the brand on social, but for themselves. 3/
Trying to prevent not the reality of the thing, but its "appearance" in the eyes of others— that approach isn't working. If bad faith critics can edit your staff based on the appearance of bias, then you have surrendered power to people who want you dead. 4/
What affects the product — not what triggers controversy — should be the concern of newsroom leadership.
Forget appearances. Were there flaws in her work? 5/
Forget appearances. Were there flaws in her work? 5/
An open letter docs.google.com/document/d/19s… from employees to the @AP includes these lines:
"Interest groups are celebrating their victory and turning their sights on more AP journalists... Once we decide to play this game on the terms of those acting in bad faith, we can’t win." 6/
"Interest groups are celebrating their victory and turning their sights on more AP journalists... Once we decide to play this game on the terms of those acting in bad faith, we can’t win." 6/
News from the AP about the AP:
"The Associated Press said Monday that it is launching a review of its social media policies after questions were raised about last week’s firing of one of its journalists who had expressed pro-Palestinian views."
apnews.com/article/social… 7/
"The Associated Press said Monday that it is launching a review of its social media policies after questions were raised about last week’s firing of one of its journalists who had expressed pro-Palestinian views."
apnews.com/article/social… 7/
By @ErikWemple, Washington Post:
"One... editors at large news organizations quake when right-wing actors target their colleagues; and two, publishers’ concerns over ethical appearances and perceptions are reaching irrationality." 8/ washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
"One... editors at large news organizations quake when right-wing actors target their colleagues; and two, publishers’ concerns over ethical appearances and perceptions are reaching irrationality." 8/ washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Highly recommended analysis of @AP's decision to fire Emily Wilder. By @janinezacharia who is: her teacher at Stanford, a journalist with long experience in the Middle East, and a student of disinformation campaigns. Uniquely positioned to teach the AP. politico.com/news/magazine/… 9/ 
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