Trump just banned the National Parks Service from tweeting

After the National Park Service retweeted light-hearted jabs at Donald Trump, it was quickly and indefinitely silenced by the new chief executive.

The verified @NatlParkService Twitter account has, as of Friday evening, been ordered by its Washington, DC support office to cease all activity on the social media platform “until further notice.” The order seems to have come down shortly after the account retweeted two tweets poking fun at President Trump’s small inauguration crowd. The retweets have since been removed, but tech blog Gizmodo kept a screenshot for posterity:

Gizmodo obtained an internal letter sent to National Parks Service employees explaining the sudden shift in Twitter policy, and instructing them to immediately refer all crisis communications to alternate social media platforms:

We have received direction from the Department through [the Washington Support Office] that directs all [Department of Interior] bureaus to immediately cease use of government Twitter accounts until further notice.

PWR parks that use Twitter as part of their crisis communications plans need to alter their contingency plans to accommodate this requirement. Please ensure all scheduled posts are deleted and automated cross-platform social media connections to your twitter accounts are severed. The expectation is that there will be absolutely no posts to Twitter.

In summary, this Twitter stand down means we will cease use of Twitter immediately. However, there is no need to suspend or delete government accounts until directed.

This does not affect use of other approved social media platforms. We expect further guidance to come next week and we will share accordingly.

Thanks for your help!

The change in Twitter policy means that any breaking announcement regarding park closures, avalanches shutting down roads, or other critical information about changes in National Parks services will likely be done on Facebook. The Twitter account for Mt. Rainier National Park referred tourists to its official Facebook page:

Until further notice, all park road condition updates will provided on the Mount Rainier Facebook page https://t.co/JwFuETkGnM.

— MountRainierNPS (@MountRainierNPS) January 20, 2017

With this as precedent, it’s safe to assume that all government employees administering social media accounts have just been officially put on notice by the new administration (even though retweets are not necessarily endorsements, as is generally understood).

Zach Cartwright is an activist and author from Richmond, Virginia. He enjoys writing about politics, government, and the media. Send him an email at [email protected]