The public can now leave comments on Alachua County’s Facebook, Instagram, X and Nextdoor posts.
After 2 years of having its comment sections off in these platforms, the county announced through a post on November 6th that comments would be opened up for a 30-day trial period.
Alachua County Communications Director Mark Sexton is one of the people on the county staff who has been monitoring and replying to comments in the past month. Now that the trial period has come to an end, he said the county staff has quietly decided to keep the comment sections open.
“We've been very happy with the results. So, at this point, we're going to leave them on indefinitely,” he said.
Sexton said that in 2021 comments in the county’s social media posts were initially turned off as a result of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen’s Congressional testimony.
Sexton said her testimony made it clear, at the time, that social media algorithms rewarded hateful and uncivil comments.
“She made it clear that at the time, two years ago, the fall of 2021, that social media companies, particularly Facebook, had their algorithms set up so that the uglier the more in civil, the more antagonistic comments, the more reward was given,” Sexton said.
Chair of the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners Mary Alford said that at the time, the county was implementing policies regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and distributing information about the disease.
“We felt it was important to get COVID information out to our citizens, and our posts were being overrun by folks that disagreed with our policies, and they were from all over the place, not necessarily from Alachua County,” Alford said. “And it was distracting from our ability to get information out to the public.”
Chair Alford said now it is time to open the comment sections and interact more with the public by answering their questions and reading their feedback. She said she is pleased to get comments that are productive and help her understand how the community feels.
Beth Rosenson, University of Florida Associate Professor of political science, said there is value in a democracy that is transparent, accountable and responsive.
“I’d say as a whole, public comments are a valuable piece of information for the government to have and it contributes to this value of transparency, being open about what they're doing and how the public is responding to it,” Rosenson said.
Sexton said that since the account started to allow comments, the posts have gotten 2-4 times the reach they used to have previously.
“We post information that we think is important for residents of Alachua. County to know,” he said. “For us, that's the most important metric here. We are reaching more people. So that's fundamentally the most important thing.”
Sexton said following the social media accounts of the county is a way to get up to speed on what is going on.
He also said that while they will continue to reply to comments, the best way to get in touch with county commissioners is by emailing them, attending their meetings or by setting up an appointment with them.