State Department tells diplomats overseas to suspend making social media posts
From CNN's Nicole Gaouette, Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler
US diplomats overseas have been told to suspend all social media posts given the mob assault on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, three diplomatic sources told CNN, a step normally only taken during a terrorist attack and major natural disaster.
The Under Secretary for Public Affairs sent a note to US diplomatic posts overseas ordering them to “pause any planned context from your social media accounts” and remove any scheduled content set for release on Facebook, Hootsuite, and Twitter until further notice.
The message, a copy of which was provided to CNN, also said that planned social media from flagship State Department accounts are also being frozen.
That message was followed by a second note to staff that said the freeze was happening at the direction of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s office and should be implemented in all bureaus. A social media freeze of this sort is commonly ordered by department leadership when there is a terrorist attack or an earthquake and they do not want US missions posting about off-topic issues, a strong possibility since many offices schedule pre-planned posts.
Despite the directive, Pompeo himself has been “conspicuously silent” as rioters stormed Capitol Hill, one diplomat pointed out.
The situation has left US embassies – which are receiving multiple requests for comment – with nothing they can say about the riots, two US diplomats said. In some instances they have relied on the tweets of Vice President Pence saying that the violence must stop, diplomats said.
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