Social Media Guidelines for the UC Davis Community

UC Davis recognizes the vital role that social media plays in communicating, collaborating and interacting with students, faculty, staff and the general public. We encourage you to use social media to connect with the UC Davis community to foster a place for vibrant and thoughtful engagement. See Section 310-40, University Communications: Publications, Graphic Standards, Marketing, Social Media and Media Relations.

As a university committed to the highest standards of freedom of expression, (See Section 400-01, Freedom of Expression), we encourage everyone to get involved and participate in social media. When participating on UC Davis social media channels, please follow the Commenting Guidelines. We encourage comments that are consistent with the UC Davis Principles of Community. We discourage comments that are off-topic, use ethnic or racial slurs, hateful speech, personal attacks, and abusive language. Comments involving obscenity, libel, or spamming may be removed. Additionally, UC Davis reserves the right the block an account or remove a post that is noncompliant with UC Davis policies. 

The following policies and community guidelines apply to the entire UC Davis community (i.e. students, faculty/academics, staff and the public) to engage with social media responsibly, whether it is in an official capacity or a personal one.

Social Media Policy (PPM 310-40)

How to start, name and register official UC Davis social media channels.

Commenting Guidelines

How we moderate comments on UC Davis social media posts and channels.

Guide for Managing Online Harassment and Trolling

Tools and support resources for those who are experiencing online harassment. 

8 simple guidelines 

Follow these guidelines when engaging on UC Davis-hosted social networks or representing the University online in your official capacity.

• Compliance with Policies. Ensure you follow the UC Davis policies and requirements when posting on social media platforms. Familiarize yourself with these policies as adherence is essential to maintain a positive and respective environment. Take responsibility for your posts and interactions on social media. Uphold values and principles of UC Davis and avoid sharing content that may reflect poorly on the University or its community. By understanding and complying with these policies and procedures, you can contribute positively to the UC Davis social media community. 
  • UC Davis Policy and Procedure Manual:
    • Social Media: Section 310-40, University Communications: Publications, Graphic Standards, Marketing, Social Media, and Media Relations
    • Copyrights: Sections 250-01, Copyright, and 250-05 Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
    • Electronic Communications: Sections 310-23, Electronic Communications-Allowable Use; Exhibit A, Acceptable Use Policy, 310-24, Electronic Communications-Privacy and Access.
    • Section 310-65, Use of the University's Name, Seal and Other Trademarks.
    • Section 400-01, Freedom of Expression.
  • Conduct Policies:
    • UC Davis Academic Personnel Manual Section 015, The Faculty Code of Conduct.
    • UC Policy on Student Conduct and Discipline.
    • Section 380-30, Abusive Conduct in the Workplace.
    • Section 400-15, Complaints of Discrimination or Harassment.
    • Section 400-20, Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment. 
• Inspire respectful dialogue. We strive to foster a welcoming and inclusive online environment that encourages respectful and inclusive dialogue. Embrace diverse perspectives and engage in constructive conversations that promote understanding and mutual respect. While it is okay to discuss and disagree on relevant topics, we discourage using language that is inconsistent with the UC Davis Principles of Community. Be mindful of the Commenting Guidelines, as noncompliant comments may be removed from UC Davis social media channels.
• Be transparent. Be honest about who you are. Clearly identify yourself and fully disclose any affiliation you may have with UC Davis. This can be a reference in your bio or an online statement. When expressing personal opinions online, make it clear that you are not speaking on behalf of the University. For example, “I work for UC Davis. Thoughts shared here are my own.”
• Protect personal information. Avoid posting personal contact information (i.e., home and cellphone numbers, mailing or home addresses, personal email addresses, license plates, etc.) on social media sites, for yourself or others. Remember that social media posts are public and can live on forever, with long-lasting severe impacts on privacy and safety.
• Respect intellectual property laws. Adhere to copyright laws and respect the intellectual property rights of others, including UC Davis' copyrights, trademarks and brands. When sharing content from others, provide proper attribution and avoid reproducing copyrighted materials without permission. See Sections 250-01, Copyright, and 250-05 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Personal webpages and social media accounts (of faculty/academics, staff or students), may not use UC Davis logos, seals or other UC Davis trademarks. See Section 310-65, Use of the University's Name, Seal and Other Trademarks.
• No endorsements. While you may share information about your work at UC Davis, refrain from using the University's name to endorse third-party products or services on University accounts without explicit permission from UC Davis.
• Stay on topic. Keep your comments relevant to the topic of the post. Off-topic comments can make it difficult and frustrating for users to find information and contribute meaningfully to the discussion. 

• Comply with Cal. Educ. Code section 99121. The California Education Code section 99121, prohibits employees and representatives of public and private colleges from requiring or requesting students, prospective students, or student groups to disclose, access, or reveal personal social media account information. 

  All content, information, and views expressed on social media platforms are the sole responsibility of the individual posting them. They may not necessarily represent the official policies or viewpoints of UC Davis. The University is not responsible for unanswered posts or any inaccurate information shared by others.

10 tips to enhance the security of your social media engagement 

• Avoid using your full name. Don't create social media handles that contain your full first, middle and last names. If using social media to advance your professional career, consider just revealing your first and last name and not revealing your middle or other surnames. 
   
• Regularly review your privacy settings. Social media platforms all have privacy settings that give you the power to choose who can see your profile, who can message you, who can tag you and how much information is shared from social media publicly. Each platform is different and privacy settings can change frequently. Consider privacy settings as a regular maintenance task that needs to be checked on at least once a year. Visit the specific social media sites for the most up to date information, linked below.
  
  X (formerly known as Twitter) | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn | Snapchat | Discord | Reddit | WhatsApp | WeChat
   
• Do not post personally identifiable information. Don’t post information that can help identify your address, office, your license plate or other personally identifiable information. Some of this information can be less obvious - check the background of images for mail, your address, ID numbers, sticky notes with passwords, notebooks, etc. This also includes not posting proprietary information that can be found in documents, white boards and in the backgrounds of some research labs or offices. 
   
• Don’t post about your whereabouts until after you’ve left. Your location is vital information about you. Don’t post about trips until after you’ve returned. 
   
• Change your passwords often and set up two factor authentication. Take full advantage of the extra security measures of two factor authentication and change your passwords frequently. 
   
• Only follow accounts that you know are credible and are trustworthy. Be judicious about who you follow back on social media. Take the time to make sure it is a real account run by an actual person and not a bot. This also applies to content that you share - take the time to ensure it’s from a credible source and click beyond the headline before pressing share. 
   
• Build your support network and ground your own reputation. Connect with colleagues, peers, mentors, and leaders and contacts online. Be active with this group and support them. Chances are if you ask your support network for help, they will reciprocate. 
   
• Take the high ground and don’t feed the trolls. Trolls thrive on conflict and in general are not online to listen to reason. Don’t give them the satisfaction of engaging in debate. Take a break before engaging or replying and use this litmus test “would I be proud if this post/reply was published by [insert huge media company here]?” If the answer is no, don’t post it. You can always get a gut check from a friend. 
   
• Use your voice. In some rare circumstances, it is appropriate to use your personal social media channels to share your side of the story. Before you consider this approach, take your time to evaluate the online conversation, your stance and what you want to say. Ask for several gut checks from peers and from your department leaders before posting. Avoid the temptation to rush into responding. Sometimes this step has potential for massive backlash - so engage with extreme caution. More often than not, this step isn’t necessary as the issues blow over faster than most expect.
   
• Block, mute, and report. All social media platforms have the ability to block users from accessing your social media content or being able to direct message you. If someone is leaving you unwanted messages, comments or tagging you on your own social media posts or pages, hit that block button! You do not owe anyone an explanation about why you’ve blocked or unfriended them. 
  
  If blocking is too harsh, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram have “mute” options that can silence notifications from an individual or cut out those conversation threads that you don’t want to see without blocking.
  
  Report users and profiles who are engaging in harassing behaviors, making threats or are impersonating you directly to the social media platform. Most platforms act quickly on these reports as it is generally against the terms and conditions of use and once verified that the offending actions are against its harassment policies, user comments and accounts can be deleted. In extreme cases, users can be banned outright from using the platforms. These reports are also used for any police case filings or warrants.  
  
  X (formerly known as Twitter) reporting | Facebook reporting | Instagram reporting | TikTok reporting |  LinkedIn reporting | Discord reporting | SnapChat reporting | WeChat reporting |  WhatsApp reporting
   
• Visit our page for more resources if you think you are experiencing online harassment.

Contact us

For questions, comments or to report abuse, send a message to socialmedia@ucdavis.edu.

*Social media includes, but is not limited to: Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and blogs.