Social Media Comments Policy

The core principles of the Australian Greens include non-violence and participatory democracy.

Across our social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) we hope to engage as many people as possible in constructive discussions about Greens issues, policies and politics.

Vibrant and open comments threads are at the heart of what we aim to achieve. However, to encourage open participation there are limits to acceptable communication. Violent language is not welcome.

We often post about contentious issues that evoke passionate responses.

We welcome all kinds of comments and thoughts: supportive, dissenting, critical or otherwise, as long as they are made in the spirit of constructive and civilised dialogue.

Illustration - group of people talking

Comments Policy

  • Polite language please! Coarse, racist, sexist or homophobic language, defamation, abuse and attacks are not acceptable.
  • Please do your best to stay on topic. While we appreciate wide-ranging discussions, we'd like to avoid derailed threads.
  • Malicious, defamatory, repetitive or vexatious commentary is not a part of constructive or civilised dialogue and repeat offenders will be blocked.
  • Please try to avoid excessively frequent or long comments, which may discourage others from participating. If you have a lot to add, write a public Facebook note and link to it.
  • No hawkers. This page is NOT somewhere to sell your goods and services, or spruik off-topic issues or campaigns.
  • Limit links. Any comment with more than two links could be marked as comment spam.
  • Trolling and sockpuppetry are not acceptable.
  • Conspiracy theories and other assertions not supported by scientific consensus are unwelcome on our page but in particular, the question of human induced global heating has been settled. When over 80% of scientists agree on any one topic, its considered to have "strong consensus". If you wish to take exception to the findings of NASA, CSIRO, BoM (Bureau of Meteorology) and 97-98% of the world's scientists, there are plenty of places online you can do that. Discussion across our pages will not be derailed by questions around the existence of the issue, and will focus instead on the best means to address it.

Administrators may report or remove comments containing spam, profanity, defamation, or otherwise objectionable or prohibited material subject to the specific platform's Code of Conduct, Terms of Use, and the general rules above. Discussion about moderation will not be entered into.

If you see a comment you believe is not in the spirit of this policy, you can contact us at greens@greens.org.au - for fast response, please include a screenshot of the image and details of the specific page and post it appeared on.

The views, opinions and experiences expressed in user-submitted comments are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of the Australian Greens.