Do politicians have an obligation to be on social media?

In a video editorial today, the Rochester Post Bulletin asks whether it’s acceptable for public officials to discontinue their social media accounts.

Randy Staver, a member of the city council in Rochester deleted his social media accounts after a Facebook post criticized another council member.

“It’s an impulse many of us have had when dealing with the vitriolic, troll-rewarding rhetoric we find on Facebook and Twitter,” editorial board member Bryan Lund says in his PB editorial.

Politicians aren’t obligated to be on social media, he says. But they are obligated to be responsive. “For better or worse, that requires being where the public is.”