New York City Mayor Eric Adams released social media rules to mayoral staffers last week, seeking to provide clarity in an area where his administration has faced controversy over previous statements that have violated city policies.
The guidelines instruct city officials to make clear they do not speak for the city government when stating personal opinions. They come after Adams instructed top officials not to criticize President Donald Trump's administration on social media at the risk of losing federal aid. That directive came down on the same day the U.S. Department of Justice ordered federal prosecutors to drop corruption charges against the mayor.
"If you are using your city title or making other references to city employment, you must use disclaimers that make clear that the opinions expressed are your own," states the first bullet point of the new four-page policy memo, which Gothamist obtained. The document specifies that "discriminatory, obscene, defamatory, libelous or threatening [material] is forbidden and is grounds for disciplinary action up to and including termination."
"When in doubt, do not post!" the memo adds.
City employees are also forbidden from posting on social media during work hours unless it is part of their official duties, according to the policy.
The memo was distributed only to those city employees who work in mayoral offices. It builds on a preexisting citywide social media policy, according to Adams' office, which did not issue any further comment.
Social media use has posed repeated problems for the Adams administration. In January, the city Department of Investigation reprimanded several top NYPD officials for inappropriate social media posts. And last month, a top mayoral aide who oversees sporting activities drew criticism for declaring her support for Trump's executive order to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports.
"To those asking about my position, as director of NYC Sports & Rec, I stand with the recent executive order reinforcing the importance of fairness in women's sports," Jasmine Ray, director of the Mayor's Office of Sports, Wellness and Recreation, wrote in a since-deleted Instagram story.
Ray's statement contradicted official city policy, which says students must be allowed to participate in sports and athletic activities according to a student's gender identity "asserted at school." It also came as Adams faced criticism over his refusal to publicly criticize Trump over issues, such as immigration, that clashed with city policies.
Adams' office didn't comment on Ray's post at the time. She said in an email that invoking her title was "inappropriate, and an "error in judgement." Some officials argued her statements should have disqualified her from a role charged with ensuring equal access to athletic programs.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that government employees have a limited right to free speech when speaking for the government and that their personal speech can sometimes be cause for discipline, according to civil liberties experts. That is especially true for high-level or public-facing employees.
"The higher you go, the less free speech rights you have," said Norman Siegel, former executive director of the nonprofit New York Civil Liberties Union. He said deputy mayors and those in cabinet positions are among those with more-limited free speech rights.
But Siegel, a civil rights activist known for his commitment to absolute free speech — which famously led him to defend the Ku Klux Klan — argued that free speech is a "high and fundamental right." He said high-ranking city employees should be allowed to express their views as long as it does not interfere with their job duties — and that the city must prove any violations.
Ray was not the first Adams official who deleted a controversial social media post. On Feb. 4, the mayor's deputy chief of staff, Madeline Labadie, published a post on X where she described Trump's proposal to permanently displace the Palestinian population from Gaza and take over the territory as "genocide." A Daily News reporter noticed the post was deleted hours later without explanation.
Reached by phone on Friday, Labadie declined to comment on the matter.
John Chell, the NYPD's former chief of patrol and a conservative ally of Adams, was among the police officials found to have published posts that violated city policy. In January, he was promoted to the NYPD's chief of department, the top uniformed officer, following a sexual misconduct scandal involving his predecessor.
As chief of patrol, Chell came under fire for controversial social media posts on his official NYPD account that targeted journalists, an elected official and a judge. In October, he drew criticism for appearing in uniform on the conservative news channel Newsmax during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden. He later opened up a personal social media account, with the mayor's blessing.
"That is the beauty of, you know, this great country. One can give their personal views, you know," Adams said during a City Hall press conference in November. "If he wants to open a personal account, he should do so."
"I think he has good opinions and good views," Adams added.
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