{"id":85463,"date":"2026-10-20T17:18:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T21:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=85463"},"modified":"2026-10-20T17:30:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T21:30:12","slug":"polk-county-commissioners-ban-public-comments-on-social-media-after-unanimous-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/10\/20\/polk-county-commissioners-ban-public-comments-on-social-media-after-unanimous-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Polk County Commissioners Ban Public Comments on Social Media After Unanimous Vote"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-dominant-color=\"9f9d87\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #9f9d87;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"702\" height=\"423\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" src=\"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-1-23.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-85464 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-1-23.webp 702w, https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-1-23-300x181.webp 300w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, today (October 20, 2026), the Polk County Board of County Commissioners voted <strong>unanimously<\/strong> to turn off and disable public comments across all of the county government&#8217;s official social media pages.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Details of the Decision<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Reasoning Offered:<\/strong> The proposal\u2014initiated by Commissioner Bill Braswell\u2014was brought forward following concerns that county social media comment sections had become dominated by misinformation, vulgar language, and personal attacks, detracting from their primary purpose of serving as informational bulletin boards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Scope:<\/strong> Rather than attempting to moderate or police individual posts and user comments, the resolution disables the reply\/comment function entirely on all official accounts managed directly by the county government (such as Facebook and Instagram).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Alternative Public Input:<\/strong> County officials noted that residents still retain the ability to provide public comments in person during designated comment periods at official commission meetings or reach out through direct communication channels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Facebook states: &#8220;Polk County Government Florida limited who can comment on this post.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the email we received:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Polk County Commissioners End Comments on Official County Government Social Media Pages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Contact:<\/strong> Katelyn Hoverkamp, Public and Media Relations Officer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"tel:(863)%20534-6578\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">(863) 534-6578<\/a> (office) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Polk County Commissioners End Comments on Official County Government Social Media Pages<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bartow, Fla. (Oct. 20, 2026) \u2013<\/strong>&nbsp;Polk County Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to turn off comments on the county government\u2019s official social media pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Commissioner Bill Braswell championed turning off comments as a way to eliminate the misinformation that is often posted in the comment sections of Polk County Government social media channels. His fellow commissioners agreed with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe social media pages serve an important purpose: providing residents with timely, accurate information about county services, road closures, emergencies, and other public business. Unfortunately, the comment sections too often undermine that purpose. Incorrect claims can create confusion about the very information we are trying to communicate, while vulgar remarks and personal attacks distract from the county information being provided through the social media accounts,\u2019\u2019 Braswell said. \u201cOur responsibility is to provide reliable information. Turning off comments allows us to continue using social media to keep residents informed without attaching a county-hosted comment section that too often becomes a source of misinformation and abuse.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The resolution approved on Tuesday includes all 21 social media channels. The Polk County Communications Division does not manage the constitutional officer\u2019s social media sites, such as the Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Information will still be available on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cInstead of being a public comment forum, our social media channels will be informational only,\u2019\u2019 said Communications Division Director Amber Smith. \u201cResidents can also get information from our county website at <a href=\"http:\/\/polkfl.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">polkfl.gov<\/a>. We aren\u2019t going to stop getting the information out to everyone; we are just trying to get rid of the distraction and potential danger of people posting erroneous information regarding essential operations and services. If we are posting information about a hurricane coming towards Polk County and someone posts false information about shelters or road conditions, it could lead to tragic results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>###<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Katelyn Hoverkamp<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Public and Media Relations Officer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Polk County Communications Division<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, today (October 20, 2026), the Polk County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to turn off and disable public comments across all of the county government&#8217;s official social media&hellip; 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