Social media house rules

Gateshead Council have several social media channels - Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram. We use our platforms to update you on our work and news from across the borough, as well as to listen and respond to your views.

To ensure our channels are a place where everyone can engage in safe, respectful discussions, we have a simple set of social media 'house rules'. Our house rules outline what service you can expect from us on social media, as well as the behaviour we expect from you.

These standards apply across all our social media channels and those who breach them may be blocked and reported.

What to expect from us

• our social media accounts will be monitored from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays)
• we will respond to queries on social media in a timely way
• we will make our content accessible for everyone to engage with

What we expect from you

• follow each social media platform's Terms of Use
• do not swear
• keep comments relevant to the original topic. If you have a complaint about a separate issue, send this to us via our complaints page
• we will remove comments which we believe:
  • are abusive or obscene 
  • bully, harass or intimidate any individual or organisation
  • are unlawful, libelous or defamatory
  • promote discrimination based on age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, religion and sexual orientation
  • violate any intellectual property rights, including copyright
  • are spam
  • are deliberately deceptive or misleading
  • are promotional material, including links to external websites and promotions