U.S. ARMY SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDE

With the release of Army Directive 2026-16: Optimizing Digital Media, the number of organizations that may have a social media presence has been streamlined. Any units that are not listed in the policy may not have a social media presence and must archive and close all accounts.

• Public affairs officers must complete OPSEC level II. Contact your OPSEC program manager for more information.
• AR 360-1 states that all commanders will ensure that personnel who publish information on external online presences receive OPSEC training, social media managers are properly trained and certified, and follow the AR 360-1 guidelines.

Personnel managing or having access to an official social media account will coordinate with their local information technology offices and sign an acceptable use policy agreement with specific, mandatory language.

If the existing acceptable use policy agreement does not contain the required language, it should be amended or a separate statement containing the language should be signed.

AUP STATEMENT:

Content that is released to the public on social media platforms requires review by a 46-series Soldier or 1035-series Army civilian that has release authority from the commander.

Content released to the public on social media platforms requires an OPSEC review. As such, personnel are required to complete OPSEC training to avoid content on their unit's critical information list (CIL).

Additionally, contractors may not speak on behalf of the government. Any publishing by contractor personnel must done under the oversight of a 46-series Soldier or 1035-series Army civilian.

Point of contact: Must list a valid .mil or .gov email address

The account must have a URL to an official U.S. Army website. Use your command's website or www.army.mil if your organization does not have a website.

An account must have a user terms of agreement statement listed on the social media platform that informs visitors of what is authorized when interacting on the platform. It must include:

• General disclaimer
• Privacy and security disclaimers
• Copyright and trademark disclaimers
• Moderated account disclaimer
• Freedom of Information Act notice

RESOURCES

• GSA's Negotiated Terms of Service
• DoD Social Media User Agreement
• U.S. Army Facebook's terms of use statement Example : “While this is an open forum, it's also family-friendly, so please keep your comments and wall posts clean. In addition to keeping it family-friendly, we ask that you follow our posting guidelines here. If you don't comply, your message will be removed: - Likes ≠ endorsement - We do not allow graphic, obscene, explicit, or racial comments or submissions, nor do we allow comments that are abusive, hateful, or intended to defame anyone or any organization. - We do not allow solicitations or advertisements. This includes promoting or endorsing any financial, commercial, or non-governmental agency. Similarly, we do not allow attempts to defame or defraud any financial, commercial, or non-governmental agency.- We do not allow comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity. - You participate at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, username, and any information provided. Any appearance of external links on this site does not constitute any official endorsement by the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense.”

In order for an organization to maintain an official social media account, the organization must clearly signal that the account is “official” somewhere on the page in accordance with DOD and U.S. Army policy. An example of the specific wording can be found in the left-hand column of the U.S. Army Facebook page or at the top of the U.S. Army X account.

All official accounts must be open to the public. Private groups, accounts or feeds will NOT be registered on the Army Social Media Directory, the Defense.gov registry and U.S. Digital Registry.

In order for a Facebook account to operate in an official capacity, the account must be registered and labeled as a “government organization” account. The use of a Facebook profile, community or group page for official purposes would violate the government's terms of service agreement with Facebook.

Submit the social media account for registration and approval on the U.S. Army Social Media Directory. In addition to the Army Social Media Registry, all social media accounts must also be registered on the Defense.gov registry

Ensure your security settings are maximized and include two-step verification if available by the platform.

Review the Operations Security section of this website for more guidance.

Ensure you maintain an SOP or continuity book to ensure the account seamlessly transitions to new personnel.