00:02Every day, WA police use social media to communicate to hundreds of thousands of followers.
00:08But some content, like a recent post appealing for information about the whereabouts of an Indigenous man featuring his photo,
00:15attracted dozens of racist comments like these.
00:18Others incited violence and physical harm.
00:21Those sorts of comments, there's just absolutely no room for them in today.
00:26Murning man Richard Barakoyas says it's disappointing, hateful sentiments are not being taken down.
00:32Make some more effort to actually try and moderate your comments if you're not going to turn them off.
00:37Lawyer Demi Swain says the comments could breach social media guidelines for government agencies and also present a defamation risk.
00:45WA police, in allowing these comments to be published and maintained online, do run the risk that they may be
00:52liable as a publisher.
00:53WA police has stood by its decision to keep the comments sections open and says it relies on auto filters
00:59and manual screening to remove inappropriate commentary.
01:03In a statement, the force said its social media platforms encourage engagement among users
01:08and this means that switching comments off limits the reach of posts in the community.
01:13Adding while WA police force does on occasion switch comments off, this is not and won't become standard practice.
01:19It's very disappointing. I anticipate given they are wanting immediate public response to the matters that they're posting about,
01:27they would have somebody who is actively monitoring these comments.
01:31WA police says inappropriate comments can be reported directly to social media platforms.
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