Corporate Social Media Investigator Warns Workers Not To Post Their ‘Strong Opinions’ About Trump Right Now — 'Trust Me'
It could cost you your job, or land you in legal trouble.
Jonah Elkowitz / Shutterstock We all have opinions about different happenings in the world. It’s just a part of our human nature. Often, in the heat of the moment, it feels like the best thing to do is to share those opinions so others can engage with them.
This is not necessarily a smart thing to do, though. Sharing opinions on big, important issues can lead to very serious consequences, including losing your job.
A social media investigator is warning people not to share their opinions regarding former President Donald Trump if they want to keep their jobs.
Since Saturday, the internet has been flooded with opinions from people on every side of the political aisle about the shooting of former President Donald Trump.
In many ways, this makes sense. We are a world that largely lives online, and we are used to sharing our thoughts on almost every topic, especially big ones.
However, this can be detrimental to your career, says TikTok user Samantha Marks, who works as a social media investigator for corporations.
“Not everything needs to be posted, okay?” Marks said. “Put the phone down, don’t tweet, don’t make a TikTok, don’t make a Facebook post, okay? Trust me.”
Marks then explained why she had expertise on this subject. “I am a social media private investigator. Companies and large corporations hire me to do deep dives on potential employees’ social media before they hire them and let them know of any potential risks and/or past problematic posts that might make that company or corporation look bad in the future,” she said.
“I understand everyone has strong opinions right now, and that’s totally warranted, and I totally understand that,” Marks continued. “Keep it in the group chat. Keep it in the text to your friends. Please do not tweet. Please do not post a TikTok if you are not comfortable with your future employer and/or anybody else in your life seeing it.”
Other TikTokers agreed. Tiffinie, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and current notary, shared some similar advice on her account.
“Listen, do not lose your job over what you post on social media,” she advised. “Do not have the Secret Service or the FBI come to your house over what you post on social media. That’s all I’m gonna say.”
People who do this for a living, like Marks, and people who watch it happen, like Tiffinie, agree. It’s best not to get overly political or share your opinion too freely on social media, as it can lead to serious consequences.
For some, the consequences have already been severe.
Some people are already dealing with fallout from what they have shared on social media about Trump and the incident at his Pennsylvania rally.
Fox News reported on a Democratic congressional staffer who was fired because of the comments she made on Facebook.
Jorge Argento shared a clip from the news outlet on TikTok. In the video, reporters discussed Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson’s swift action to rid his office of someone who made negative political posts on social media.
A member of Thompson’s staff, Jacqueline Marsaw, was reported to have posted on Facebook, “I don’t condone violence, but please get you some shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time. Ooops, that wasn’t me talking.”
Thompson released a statement in which he said, “I was made aware of a post made by a staff member, and she is no longer in my employment.”
Another TikToker named Sam, known as @thriftingmomof1, shared a Facebook post from someone which read, “Shoot — if only he would’ve had his scope sighted in correctly.”
Sam asked viewers to compare this to the law surrounding comments that can be made about elected officials.
The Department of Justice cited a law that stated threats against presidents, former presidents, presidential candidates, and their families are “prohibited” and can be “prosecuted.”
What you post online is taken very seriously.
As Sam pointed out in her video, we have the right to free speech, but that does not give us the right to threaten others, especially when those people are current or former presidents.
Something you say may seem like a throwaway post no one is going to see, but that is not necessarily the case. You could lose your job over what you post and, in some cases, even face legal consequences.
No matter what your opinions are or how badly you feel you need to share them, sometimes it’s best to just keep them to yourself.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.