AP Adds New Twitter Guidelines for Journalists

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Journalists at the Associated Press can’t retweet strong opinions unless they are put it into context, said Eric Carvin, AP’s NY-based social media editor. A retweet can be interpreted as an endorsement of an viewpoint. At the AP, that’s a journalistic no-no.  Carvin said the new guidelines are designed to protect the wire service’s integrity and make it clear that it’s someone else’s opinion.

Putting tweets into context requires more thought than just clicking retweet. “But we’re journalists,” he told Ebyline, “writing clearly and concisely is something we’re good at, and the extra work is worth it to avoid the appearance of possible bias.”

Ebyline