Social media comment policy

Sue Ryder’s social media accounts allow us to connect and interact with the public, our fundraising supporters, families we support, volunteers and staff. Our pages provide an opportunity for users to engage and interact with us and other users. Sue Ryder requests that all comments posted on our social media channels be respectful and courteous of other users.

Sue Ryder has an official presence on the following social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Threads and TikTok.

Each social media platform has its own privacy policy to which users agree to: Facebook; Twitter; Instagram; LinkedIn; YouTube; Pinterest; Threads; TikTok.

We welcome and encourage users to engage and participate in open discussions on our social media channels. However, this does not imply that Sue Ryder agrees with or accepts the content, opinions, or views stated in comments posted by users.

Sue Ryder regularly reviews comments and messages on our social media channels. Although social media is a 24/7 medium, our moderation capabilities operate on a defined schedule and responses should only be expected during normal business hours. We moderate, review and reply to comments and messages between 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday and sporadically at weekends and on UK Bank Holidays. We are committed to monitoring social media during these hours and we may monitor and respond at other times. We accept no responsibility for lack of service outside of these working hours.

We read every comment and message received on our social media pages. We will respond wherever we can to users who appear in need of additional resources or who may benefit from our services. We do not provide ongoing personal support for users. If we believe a user is repeatedly seeking support and we have already signposted to our services or external resources, we will reply to inform the user that we have replied to their previous comments or messages and advise they refer to these for support.

We endeavour to answer your questions where possible, but if you require an official or urgent response you should contact Sue Ryder.

Sue Ryder reserves the right to remove or hide any comment from our social media channels at our discretion if it is believed that a comment:

• Uses profane, vulgar, obscene, racist, threatening, harassing, bullying, violent, sexually explicit or abusive language, images, graphics, or video.
• Incites hatred or violence, or uses hate speech on the basis of religion, race, gender, gender identity, nationality, sexuality, disability or any other personal characteristic.
• Is inappropriate, offensive or maliciously intends to personally attack a person’s character.
• Is suggestive or encouraging of illegal activity.
• Includes personally identifiable information, such as an email address, postal address or phone number.
• Is irrelevant or off-topic to the original post.
• Distributes false or misleading information or makes unsupported accusations.
• Includes privileged, personal, or other confidential information.
• Infringes copyright or trademark laws.
• Posts spam or advertisements, promotes products or services, or engages in coordinated inauthentic behaviour.
• Engages in political campaigning or lobbying.
• Are persistently negative or intended to provoke a response.
• Uses graphic or detailed descriptions of self-harm and/or suicide.
• Indicates an immediate safeguarding risk for the commenter which other users are not in a position to support (see ‘Safeguarding users’ section below for more details).

If a user repeatedly violates the Sue Ryder comment policy in their comments or messages, or engages in other disruptive behaviour, Sue Ryder reserves the right to block them from the particular and/or all our social media channels or hide/remove their comment without notice. We may provide a user with feedback on why they have been blocked or their comment has been hidden/removed but are not obliged to do so.

Sue Ryder will also remove comments that violate the terms, community standards, rules, guidelines, or policies of the social media platform:

• Facebook Terms of Service and Community Standards
• Twitter Terms of Service and Rules and Policies
• Instagram Terms of Use and Community Guidelines
• LinkedIn User Agreement and Community Policies
• YouTube Terms of Service and Policies and Safety
• Pinterest Terms of Service and Community Guidelines
• Threads Terms of Use
• TikTok Terms of Service and Community Guidelines

If you wish to make a complaint about an area of Sue Ryder, please complete our Feedback and complaints form. To to raise a concern about our services, you can find out more on the Our approach to quality page.

Sue Ryder will respond to safeguarding incidents including comments and messaging that indicate a user is planning to harm themselves or others. We will provide signposting to other resources and services that we think may be helpful depending on the contents of the comment or message.

Our moderators are not counsellors. We do not provide direct grief support or crisis support via any of these platforms. Comments or messages that detail suicidal plans or intentions will be removed from Sue Ryder’s page, but we will contact you through a direct message or comment reply to signpost you to appropriate services.

If you need urgent help, please go to Accident & Emergency, or call 999 if you feel that you are at immediate risk.

Due to the nature of social media platforms, we have limited information available about users.

If we are concerned that you, a child, or vulnerable adult are at immediate risk, it is our policy to contact the emergency services and report the incident to the social media platform where the incident took place. Where appropriate, we will inform you that we have done this. For legal reasons, we keep confidential records of any safeguarding incidents.

The nature of content that is shared and discussed on the Sue Ryder social media pages can be sensitive. When talking about death, grief, bereavement and end-of-life care, we understand that users may wish to share their own experiences.

Users are fully responsible for the content of their own comments and messages. By commenting on Sue Ryder’s social media pages, users understand and acknowledge that this information is open to the public, and that others may use posted information without Sue Ryder’s knowledge or control.

Sue Ryder also acknowledge that some users may find our content triggering or upsetting. We encourage users who are distressed by our content to hide or unfollow our social media pages and ads in order to protect their wellbeing.

Some Sue Ryder staff may share content on their own social media accounts. Their posts do not represent the official position of Sue Ryder and should not be used as an authoritative source of information.

Where a user tags or mentions the official Sue Ryder accounts on a social media platform, we may reach out to request resharing a user’s content on our own pages. All content reshared from users on Sue Ryder’s pages will be credited to the original account where possible.

• Comments made or messages sent to Sue Ryder’s social media channels are not considered an official notice to Sue Ryder.
• Sue Ryder accepts no liability for any loss or damage that results from users relying on the information on our platforms.
• Content shared on the Sue Ryder social media pages should not be considered as the authoritative source of policy or guidance. Any change in Sue Ryder’s official position on legislation and guidance will be communicated through official publications and statements on our website, speeches, and media releases.
• Links from Sue Ryder’s social media platforms to third-party websites are provided for the convenience of users. Sue Ryder is not responsible for the information on or practices of any third-party website.
• Content shared by Sue Ryder through retweets or shared posts from third parties does not imply Sue Ryder’s endorsement. We may share news articles, website links and personal posts that are relevant to our work. We may also follow pages relevant to our work. The following of these pages does not imply Sue Ryder’s endorsement.