Why blocking your critics on social media is a big mistake

You don’t want to broadcast your flaws, but you could be missing opportunities to connect with your audience. Consider these insights.

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Have you ever had a client with an aversion to social media?

Our company once worked with a small government agency that was intrigued by the idea of being able to post news directly to its constituencies on Facebook and Twitter.  Yet, when the agency realized that citizens would be able to comment on its otherwise positive news, it put on the brakes, recoiling over the prospect of John Q. Public not responding with the appropriate hosannas. Then it had another thought: What if it just deleted the negative comments as soon as they were posted?

Think again.

The U.S. Court of Appeals recently said as much. It ruled in favor of a Virginia citizen gadfly who had been critical of a local elected official on her Facebook page, only to find himself subsequently blocked from continuing to post on it. President Trump is involved in a similar case for muting critics on his Twitter feed. Back in May, the court ruled that he couldn’t block his critics.

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