Vancouver city council candidate criticized for deleting tweet history
Brandon Yan defended decision, saying what he did in his 20s does not reflect who he is today
A Vancouver city council candidate has been criticized for scrubbing his Twitter history, prompting a discussion of whether this is accepted practice for all politicians.Â
Brandon Yan, a OneCity candidate, deleted all of his tweets prior to July 15, 2018, and the reaction on social media was swift.Â
I was curious about <a href="https://twitter.com/CitizenYan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CitizenYan</a>, wanted to read his twitter history.<br><br>But he deleted everything before July 15, 2018 to when he joined in 2010 🤷‍♂️<br><br>Aspiring politicians should be transparent, accountable and genuine, stand behind their words.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NotTransparent?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NotTransparent</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vanpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vanpoli</a> <a href="https://t.co/sM5zZVioXp">pic.twitter.com/sM5zZVioXp</a>
—@qlee50Let me try. How can people trust you, <a href="https://twitter.com/CitizenYan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CitizenYan</a>, to bring transparency to decisions making at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Vancouver?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Vancouver</a> city hall, when you started by hiding all your Twitter history? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VanRE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VanRE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VanPoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VanPoli</a>
—@razamirzaIn his own words
Yan defended his actions on Twitter, saying what he did as a 22-year-old does not reflect who he is today.
Mostly drunk tweets into the ether from when I was 22 (my alcohol tolerance is much lower now), some challenging mental health days, pictures of dogs, thoughts about cute boys on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Transit?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Transit</a>, probably some angry rants about things. If you'd like to know more about me, ask away :) <a href="https://t.co/wtBVGn6vCX">https://t.co/wtBVGn6vCX</a>
—@CitizenYanHe says he created his Twitter account as a personal account and found conflicting information on what to do when transitioning to a professional account for a public persona.Â
"I was criticized for attempting to delete some things. I was being criticized for not leaving it up ... and if you leave it up, people can take things out of context," he told The Early Edition. "You're damned if you do and damned if you don't."
Common practice
It's common practice to sanitize your social media account when deciding to run for politcs, says Peter Chow-White, the director of the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University.
"Politics is impression management," he said. "So, there is a constant massaging and managing what the public sees about you."
However Chow-White said younger politicians, especially millennials who grew up in a culture of social media and sharing culture, might have it a lot tougher than older politicians. Traditionally, politicians would present a carefully crafted persona when entering the public eye, but younger politicians can be at a disadvantage.
"People like Brandon, when they get into politics, their digital footprint is far bigger," he said.
"Millennials will have it a lot harder than baby boomers — financially, economically and socially — and it's just another example of how the bar has never been higher."
Those most critical of Yan's decision to delete his Twitter history are the same people critical of OneCity's platform. But it also "reflects the unfortunate consequences of the pile-on culture" on social media," as the Georgia Straight's Travis Lupick summarized in a tweet:
"We're turning good, young people off politics."