Some Newspapers Are Setting Up Their Employees To Get Sued

At The Guardian, journalists who identify themselves as Guardian employees in their Twitter bios are advised to include a disclaimer such as, “These are my personal views and not those of my employer.”

Yeah, that’s because the legal department would rather not carry all employees at all times on their libel insurance. So if you work in the media, at some places you’re encouraged (sometimes even commanded) to use things like Twitter — but also apparently sometimes you’re encouraged to actually make a disclaimer that your social media output isn’t “work product.” Shady! So then when you get sued, well, off you go, enjoy hiring your own defense. It’s not any less libelous just because you said it as an individual; it’s just employers managing their reputational risk — and selling you down the river when they can. Likely, also, because they “advised” you to make this disclaimer, then they can make the case that you’re acting individually even if you don’t carry such a disclaimer. Neato.