Social Media Policies

National Archives Comment Policies for Social Media Sites

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) uses social media platforms to tell great stories, connect more deeply with our audiences, and reach a wider audience, providing more opportunities for civic engagement. Comments are not pre-moderated on most platforms and will be immediately released into the public domain. We respect different opinions and intend for our social media platforms to foster thoughtful and respectful conversation. This means that while NARA does not discriminate against any views, we reserve the right to remove the following types of content:

• violent, obscene, profane, hateful, or racist language
• comments that promote commercial services or products 
• comments that promote or oppose any partisan political party, person campaigning for elected office, or any ballot proposition
• gratuitous links to sites 
• comments from users under the age of 14

Additionally, for your own safety please do not post personally identifiable information such as social security numbers, addresses, and telephone numbers. Comments containing this information will be removed.

Your comments are welcome at any time. We will moderate comments between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. We intend to moderate comments submitted at other times as soon as possible on the next business day.

Communications made via National Archives social media pages will in no way constitute a legal or official notice or comment to the National Archives or any official or employee for any purpose.

Commenting may be disabled on some National Archives YouTube channels. Where comments are currently deactivated, this policy applies to those submitted prior to February 2017.

The National Archives does not endorse or recommend any individuals, organizations, or commercial businesses, products, processes, or services. Learn more in our Disclaimer of Endorsement.

Members of the media are asked to pose questions to NARA Public Affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions as comments. NARA Public Affairs can be reached at 202-357-5300 or at public.affairs@nara.gov.

Additional Resources

• Supplement: Project Proposal Form
• Tips for Social Media Success