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SCR Social Media Policy

SCR Policies & Info

SCR values feedback on our stories, and people from all over the world share their thoughts in the comments on our social media posts every day. While we encourage diverse opinions, some comments can be harmful, legally risky, or dangerous.

To keep our community safe, SCR moderates comments on its social media accounts. This may involve deleting comments or turning them off altogether. When making these decisions, we consider the safety of our audience, the individuals mentioned in our articles, legal issues, and the well-being of our community management team.

Why Do We Turn Off Comments?

One main reason we turn off comments is to avoid potential legal issues. We can’t allow comments that might be defamatory, as legal action could be taken against both SCR and the commenter.

Another reason is the sub-judice rule, which prevents public discussion of ongoing criminal cases to ensure fair trials. This includes restrictions on sharing information about alleged crimes or individuals involved.

We also need to respect court orders, like name suppression orders. Violating a suppression order can result in a fine of up to $25,000 or six months in prison.

Do We Delete Comments That Don’t Break the Law?

Yes, we aim to maintain a positive online community and have clear rules about acceptable behavior.

Social House Rules:

  • Be Kind and Courteous: Treat everyone with respect. Healthy debates are welcome, but harmful or offensive comments are not.
  • No Hate Speech or Bullying: We do not tolerate bullying or degrading comments about race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender, or identity.
  • Don’t Break the Law: Avoid sharing content related to criminal activity or anything that violates court orders.
  • No Promotions or Spam: Self-promotion, spam, and irrelevant links are not allowed.
  • Your Posts, Your Responsibility: What you post is your responsibility and is not endorsed by SCR.

Most of our comments come through Facebook. Our SCR team tries to read each comment as it’s posted to ensure it follows our rules. However, if we receive too many comments at once, we may need to turn them off. This policy also applies to our YouTube Channel.

On Facebook, we can either turn off all comments or delete individual ones that violate our rules. If you see a comment that needs our attention, please let us know by emailing media@samoacapitalradio.nz.