It was already the case that those Beeboids with social media bio’s claiming “my views not the BBC’s” were in breach of the prohibition on personal expressions of opinion on social media that conflicted with BBC guidelines. Yet they were numerous…

Now new guidelines tighten things up going forward. While they are not retrospective, Beeboids are warned off the following;

• being drawn into ill-tempered exchanges, or exchanges that will reflect badly on themselves, or the BBC. Lewis Goodall can stay out of our DMs too.
• “posting when your judgement may be impaired” Don’t drink and tweet.
• revealing how you vote or expressing support for any political party. Leave us guessing.
• Do not post anything that couldn’t be said on-air or on BBC platforms. Obvious, except to the Beeboids with bios disclaiming “my views not the BBC’s”…
• “Do not break news on a personal account”. A point Guido’s editor emphasises to reporters often.
• Do not mistake social media networks as accurate reflections of public opinion; your audience is overwhelmingly elsewhere. Britain is not Twitter.
• “expressing a view on any policy which is a matter of current political debate or on a matter of public policy, political or industrial controversy, or any other ‘controversial subject’.” or supporting campaigns, (e.g. by using hashtags) “no matter how apparently worthy the cause or how much their message appears to be accepted or uncontroversial.” Black Lives May Matter, Beeboids don’t need to virtue signal that.

The guidance recognises that “expressions of opinion on social media can take many forms – from straightforward tweets, posts or updates, sharing or liking content, following particular accounts or using campaigning or political hashtags… Be wary of ‘revealed bias’, whether through likes or re-posting other posts, so that a bias becomes evident, and ‘inferred bias’ where a post is impartial but loose wording allows readers to infer a bias… Avoid ‘virtue signaling’ – retweets, likes or joining online campaigns to indicate a personal view, no matter how apparently worthy the cause.”

This is an area where Guido has been exploring data statistically. It is clear for example that certain reporters are currently revealing their bias and antipathy towards Trump by amplifying negative stories about him and no positive stories. If co-conspirators want to help with the data harvesting, feel free to share your spreadsheets…