Social media can be a powerful, positive tool for the building of community among Friends, seekers and friends of Friends. Therefore, Friends General Conference (FGC) has created social media guidelines that seek to create a beneficial experience for as many participants as possible on FGC’s social media platforms. The content on our social media accounts is intended for people of all ages, and we hope these guidelines empower community members like you to create this welcoming space with us.
Promotion of Quaker Events
FGC encourages the sharing of news, events, comments, questions and feedback from online community participants on our social media sites — Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn — to broadly enrich our shared spiritual community. If you are interested in sharing information on Quaker events, particularly those that are held remotely or that apply to Friends throughout North America, you may make a request through our Communications Submissions Form. The form includes general guidelines and deadlines to keep in mind. As time allows, FGC will gladly post links to job opportunities for FGC-affiliated Yearly Meetings as well as for national Quaker partner organizations.
We will publicize events on our Facebook page and through our Instagram account if they are organized by FGC, feature an FGC staff member in a facilitator role, or include an author whose book is being published by QuakerPress of FGC.
We prioritize fundraising that directly support FGC programs, and we are unable to promote fundraising that is not organized and/or approved by FGC. Friends who are interested in sharing links to local events or fundraisers are encouraged to share them with their Yearly Meeting’s social media pages. Facebook posts containing links to events and fundraisers that are posted without permission from FGC’s Communications team will be considered spam and removed.
Truthful and Beneficial Comments
On FGC’s social media sites:
- DO engage with the community, share/retweet and comment on posts, and tag your friends.
- DO ask questions and give answers to other participants—while being respectful of our differing experiences and opinions.
- DO stay on topic: For example, if the discussion is about worship, then talk about worship.
- DO lift one another up––we encourage you to answer that of God/Spirit in one another!
Further, before posting commentary or questions in response to social media postings or other Friends comments on FGC’s sites, we ask you to consider the following queries:
1) Is my comment truthful?
2) Is my comment beneficial to this discussion thread and the community?
3) Should I comment if the extent of my lived experience or knowledge around what I’m about to discuss is limited, or would our online community be better served by commentary from someone who has the lived experience? If the latter, would the community be well served if I asked for others to share their experience around this issue?
4) If I am holding a concern that I wish to lift up, will my comment offer constructive criticism with a possible solution?
5) If I wish to share a comment about a particular person or organization, do my words come from a place of love? If it is a difficult or private issue, should I communicate directly via phone, email or instant messenger with this person/organization about this issue prior to (or instead of) posting online?
Spam Hate Speech, and Harassment
We encourage your participation on FGC social media sites so that your life and the lives of others will be enhanced. With this in mind, FGC takes seriously our responsibility to co-create a healthy online community for all Friends and friends of Friends. Therefore, FGC will remove posts and commentary on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn that contain:
- Spam, such as advertisements, fundraising appeals, or comments written by chatbots
- Hate speech. A definition of hate speech is below.
- Content that is harassing, discriminatory, or triggering. This includes descriptions, images, or videos of explicit and gratuitous violence. It includes comments that harass or attempt to direct harm at a particular individual, organization, or group.
- Information that is not compatible with the Quaker testimony of integrity. This includes news stories with sources that cannot be verified.
- Personally identifiable information for another person, such as their name, address, phone number, or email address
- Crude or explicit language
Hate speech is any expression—spoken, written, symbolic, or implied—that demeans, stereotypes, dehumanizes, or incites harm against individuals or groups based on their identity (race, religion, gender or sexual orientation). Hate speech includes both explicit acts, such as slurs or threats, and indirect or coded language, such as insinuations, generalizations, or patterns of commentary. Hate speech reinforces prejudice or exclusion. It attempts to deny the presence of that of God within all people by undermining right relationship and beloved community.
Participants who share commentary that conflicts with some or all of these guidelines despite written warnings from FGC will be banned or blocked from all of FGC’s social media platforms. To help promote a social media experience that is beneficial for all users, commentary that violates a platform’s user agreement will be reported to the respective platform.
Users who wish to appeal a ban on Facebook or Instagram may submit their request via email to Rashid Darden, Associate Secretary for Communications and Outreach. Depending on the nature of the content that resulted in the ban, FGC may request a public apology related to the offending content on the social media platform before the block or ban can be reversed. FGC reserves the right to refuse access at our discretion.
By using FGC social media platforms, you are agreeing to these community guidelines.
Thank you for your efforts to co-create with FGC an online experience that is meaningful for you and everyone that uses FGC’s social media sites.
Published February 11th, 2019. Updated April 29, 2026.