Sid Miller needs a social media primer

Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is in hot water, yet again, for an social media faux pas — this time, spreading fake news on Facebook.

When confronted about it, he answered, “I’m not a news organization.”

He might not be a news source, but he is a government official. That job comes with responsibility and an understanding that he should be held to high standards.

In an interview with KUT radio, Miller said he does try to remove posts he believes to be fake news but says he doesn’t fact-check all the stories on his public Facebook page.

He told the radio station, “A lot of things I post on Facebook are satire and comedy.”

Even so, those “satire” pieces shouldn’t be on a government official’s Facebook page either. Writing or posting something on Facebook is pretty much the same as saying it in public.

Miller has much to learn about being a government official in the social media age.

Meanwhile, readers should beef up their skepticism when perusing Miller’s or any other officials’ social media accounts — including President-elect Donald Trump’s.

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Sid Miller needs a social media primer."