Watchdog steerage clarifies charities’ rights on political campaigning

Charities can use social media to marketing campaign on political points however they need to pay attention to the dangers this could trigger to their status, a watchdog has acknowledged.

The Charity Commission has revealed new steerage for organisations on learn how to use social media successfully.

The fee’s director of communications and coverage, Paul Latham, mentioned the steerage would “help charities to navigate their use of social media with greater confidence”.

It follows a proper session, which ran within the first three months of the yr, and can “support the commission to regulate this high profile and fast paced area in a fair and balanced way”, he added.

The steerage comes just some weeks after the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) issued an apology over a social media publish accusing the Government of mendacity about environmental commitments.

The conservation charity lashed out on X, previously referred to as Twitter, at plans to scrap water air pollution restrictions for housing developments in England.

RSPB chief govt Beccy Speight mentioned she didn’t approve the publish and it didn’t undergo “normal protocols”, as she declared the charity was “not entering politics”.

The fee has now confirmed it’s investigating the “serious mistake”, though it has not launched an inquiry.

A Charity Commission spokesperson mentioned: “The trustees have shared information on the steps they are taking to review how the incident happened, and to ensure such mistakes do not occur in future.

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“We have opened a regulatory compliance case to fully assess this information and to determine our next steps.”

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has beforehand accused some charities of “actively undermining efforts to curb illegal migration”, describing them as being “comprised of politically motivated activists masquerading as ‘humanitarians’”.

But the final social media steerage issued by the fee on Monday acknowledged clearly that “charities can use social media to engage in campaigning and political activity”, as long as they abide by the extra guidelines already in place.

These embrace that the political exercise “supports their purpose and is in their best interests”, and that charities should stay unbiased and never give their help to a political celebration.

However, trustees, charity workers and different people “have the right to exercise their freedom of expression within the law”, the steerage states, together with “personally supporting a particular political party or (during an election) a particular candidate, something a charity cannot do”.

Charity Commission chairman, Orlando Fraser, advised the Guardian: “I will robustly defend charities’ right to campaign lawfully, even where such campaigning covers sensitive or politically divisive ground.”

Mr Latham mentioned in an announcement accompanying the most recent steerage: “There are many benefits to using social media, which can be an effective tool for campaigning, communicating with the public and reaching new and existing supporters.

“However, trustees need to be alive to the risks it can generate, including to a charity’s reputation.

“We have published this guidance because we want trustees to think carefully about what they want to achieve when using social media and then apply our guidance to help ensure their charity is protected.”

He added mentioned trustees have a “duty” to “act responsibly, in their charity’s best interests, and in line with the law”.

The fee’s steerage advises charities that if they’re planning campaigning or political exercise on social media, they need to guarantee everybody concerned is aware of the principles and that they take further care round elections.