The Saskatchewan Health Authority is clamping down on its social media comment sections, citing high volumes and an “escalating number” of abusive comments.
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The SHA recently restricted commenting on some of its Twitter posts, closed commenting on Facebook posts dating as far back as late August, and disabled commenting on its Instagram posts after Aug. 17.
In response to a StarPhoenix inquiry, the SHA sent a statement saying ongoing aggressive and abusive comments were redirecting staff away from providing health-related information to people seeking help and guidance. The statement added that the SHA is “piloting” some restrictions on the comment sections, but did not indicate how long the pilot may last.
For people who want to ask questions, there “have been and remain many avenues” by phone or email, the statement said.
“We recognize the value of having an interactive dialogue with our social media followers. That is why this is a pilot and we will be continuously evaluating to determine whether this will be a permanent change.”
The SHA said it has not recently reported comments made on its social media to police, but has made “many” reports to administrators of social media services for terms of service violations.
When asked if the abusive comments have been directed to specific people or to the SHA in general, a spokesperson said “both.”
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