The New York Times reportedly emailed freelance contributors, asking them not to post things on social media that would “damage the credibility of the journalism” they do for the paper.
A former contributor to the paper shared a portion of the email on Twitter Thursday night. The email, sent by a manager, asks that freelancers avoid “strident partisan advocacy or offensive personal attacks.”
“Strident partisan advocacy or offensive personal attacks risk undercutting a reporter’s credibility. Times editors may decide not to offer future assignments if they believe a journalist’s online presence shows poor judgement or could undermine The Times’s reputation,” the email excerpt reads.
Over the past year, TheNYT has implemented new social media rules for its staff. The outlet announced expanded guidelines in October that employees are expected to follow, which include not promoting political views or endorsing candidates.
Despite these stringent guidelines, however, TheNYT came under fire in November when the official Twitter account for its opinion section openly lobbied against the Republican tax bill by posting phone numbers for Republican senators and asking readers to tell them to vote against the proposed plan.
In response, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeted that people “should stop pretending the NYT isn’t a political organization.”
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