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BBC dismisses two members of staff for ‘misusing’ social media

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By John Glenday | Reporter

November 27, 2012 | 2 min read

The BBC has reportedly sacked two members of staff over the misuse of their social media accounts, including Facebook and Twitter, a move which came to light following a freedom of information request from Parliament Street, a right-wing think tank.

It is thought the ultimate sanction was brought to bear before the current self-imposed moratorium on staff tweets and status updates was imposed by the organisations acting director of news, Fran Unsworth, in the wake of the Savile and Newsnight fiasco's.

A further two employees have also been disciplined for social media abuse but the BBC refused to comment on any of the cases.

Steven George-Hilley, director of Parliament Street, said organisations should train staff needed to be trained so as not to use social media as a platform to air grievances. He said: “Misuse of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook by employees can compromise the integrity of publicly funded organisations and trigger long-term reputational damage.

“Simply writing up an acceptable use rulebook is not enough, it’s vital that staff are trained to fully understand the consequences of their actions to prevent these incidents from occurring in the first place.”

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