Teachers’ union president Weingarten touts AI to delete embarrassing social media posts

The president of the second largest teachers’ union is marketing a new artificial intelligence “clean-up” tool to teachers that post embarrassing or controversial messages to social media.

Randy Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, made the recommendation on Tuesday via Twitter, the same platform where she has been roasted by critics for claiming she wanted to reopen schools quickly during the pandemic. Social media users have been quick to share links to articles and tweets from the union boss contradicting her claims.

Our union is here for you to help you future-proof your social media. @AFTunion has partnered w/LifeBrand for a 25% discount off the cost of this powerful tool that scans your social media to catch forgotten posts that may not reflect who you are today https://t.co/2rvadER4he

— Randi Weingarten 🇺🇦🇺🇸💪🏿👩‍🎓🟣 (@rweingarten) May 9, 2023

“It was good to know that if I found something that others might use for negative purposes that I could delete it with one key stroke,” AFT Secretary-Treasurer Fedrick Ingram said, in a testimonial about the company’s service.

Similarly, the head of the AFT in California, Jeff Freitas, said he was “relieved” that the service could check posts for “what could be a misunderstanding.”

Teachers are under fire nationally for potentially embarrassing social media posts.   

In December, Delaware high school teacher Christina Grider was caught on a social media video post admitting that she uses classroom instruction time to have Gay Pride club meetings without even informing parents. 

In February, a teacher in Florida was placed on administrative leave after he used kids as pawns in Black History Month videos on TikTok, showing white students kneeling in worshipful poses before black students.

In the same month, a California nursery school teacher and professor of early childhood development was ridiculed online when he said pre-school children should be exposed to discussions about sexuality and “queerness,” in a now-deleted social media post.

Also in February, Auburn School District teacher Karen Love said on Twitter that teachers need to protect children from “Christo-fascist parents.”

Love was responding to a parent’s post exhorting people to check with their local school district on their policies about keeping secrets from parents.

And most recently, a post on Twitter helped reveal when delegates from the Colorado Education Association, an NEA union affiliate, passed an anti-capitalist resolution at their assembly which they tried to keep secret from the general public. 

LifeBrand, the company whose services are being touted by Weingarten, bills itself as the “#1 Social Media Cleaning Platform,” with the slogan “Protect your Future from your Social Media Past!”

But the company also monitors posts in real-time to flag potentially embarrassing posts that teachers publish.

“LifeBrand helps in the hiring process by providing an EEOC & FCRA compliant social health report,” said a company webpage marketed toward schools.

Indeed, as most of the stories about teachers and social media demonstrate, the problem isn’t their social media past, but their social media present that reveals who they really are today.