The City of Muncie Facebook page, which has long been under scrutiny by community members and represents Muncie’s local government, has decided to no longer allow comments on its main platform. Muncie citizens can now comment through its separate page “City of Muncie Communications” that includes the same contents with commenting enabled, although many are questioning the reasoning behind the decision. City Communications Director Michele Owen is the only City Hall staffer who is known to work with the social media pages, and is continually providing information on the new page and its standards.
The change comes after many have suggested the account was used to support Mayor Dan Ridenour’s reelection campaign and provided misinformation in months since. The concerns after the announcement are that insight for community discussion won’t won’t be as easily viewable to residents wanting to understand concerns about the mayoral administration.
Reactions above were last updated July 10th.
While there have been various posts about the announcement online made by members of the city council and some city employees, different residents of Muncie have said the following:
“This decision is baffling and disappointing. Transparency? Effective communication? Seeing the exact opposite with this decision. Citizens shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to voice their opinion.”
“City of Muncie is acting unconstitutional, what doo you have to say about that? Other than being cowards?”
“Fantastic that you’ve found a way to decrease your productivity AND ethics. Classic Ridenour.”
There has also been criticism of one of the new rules of the new page, which states that there cannot be “promotion or opposition to political organizations, campaigns, candidates or pending legislative action.” This rule could be interpreted to mean that comments with opposition to Mayor Dan Ridenour could merit a removal from the page. If you feel your access has been unfairly limited, you can contact Indiana Public Access Councilor, Luke Britt, at https://www.in.gov/pac/. The Mayor’s Office can be reached through mayor@muncie.in.gov, or (765) 747-4853. Additionally, the Indiana ACLU has a recently updated page with a guide on social media for public officials and government agencies.