Associated Press Updates: Retweets, Shoutouts, and Illegal Immigrants

While it’s natural to comment on retweets, the Associated Press has issued new social media guidelines dictating that staffers must abstain from sharing or implying opinions via retweets of top headlines.

According to updated procedures, “retweets, like tweets, should not be written in a way that looks like you’re expressing a personal opinion on the issues of the day.” The measure still applies even if staffers have noted in their profiles that retweets are not endorsement equivalents. The guidelines, which were last updated in July, previously said staffers “are welcome to retweet and share material posted by official AP-branded accounts on social networking sites (e.g., @AP, @APStylebook, etc).”