September 2018 Coach's Quiz
We’ve given you five rules to follow to avoid fair housing problems when advertising online. Now let’s look at how the rules might apply in the real world. Take the Coach’s Quiz to see what you have learned.
INSTRUCTIONS: Each of the following questions has only one correct answer. On a separate piece of paper, write down the number of each question, followed by the answer you think is correct—for example, (1) b, (2) a, and so on.
QUESTION #1
To highlight community events, you plan to post pictures of a summer pool party on your website and Facebook page. The event was attended by older residents, including some in wheelchairs, and several families with young children. But some of your colleagues want to post only the pictures of young women in bikinis laughing and drinking cocktails. What should you do?
a. Post the pictures of the young women laughing to show your community is a fun place to live.
b. Post all the pictures, including those of the children and older residents, to show a cross-section of people who would be welcome at your community.
c. Don’t post any pictures because it’s an invasion of the residents’ privacy.
QUESTION #2
Someone who says she lives in a particular building within your community posts a comment on your Facebook page complaining about “dirty #@!&# foreigners leaving trash all over the hallway.” You should:
a. Leave the post up because everyone has a right to free speech.
b. Take down the post and hope no one noticed it.
c. Take down the post, but add a comment reinforcing your community’s commitment to fair housing; then take steps to investigate the complaint.
QUESTION #3
If your community has a large population of Korean residents, then you can’t get into fair housing trouble if you run ads only in Korean-language media and websites. True or false?
a. True.
b. False.
ANSWERS & EXPLANATIONS
QUESTION #1
Correct answer: b
Reason: Rules #2 and #5 apply here:
Rule #2: Screen All Photos and Videos for Unlawful Images
Rule #5: Develop a Social Media Policy
Posting pictures of people, including residents, on your website or Facebook page could raise fair housing concerns. Take care to choose pictures that reflect diversity so anyone visiting the sites would understand that the community is open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or familial status.
Wrong answers explained:
a. Posting only pictures of the bikini-clad women could raise a fair housing problem because they may imply an unlawful preference against individuals with disabilities or families with young children, along with age—if that’s a protected characteristic under your state law.
c. To allay privacy concerns, make sure that you have a written release signed by anyone whose picture you want to post on your website or social media sites.
QUESTION #2
Correct answer: c
Reason: Rule #5 applies here:
Rule #5: Develop a Social Media Policy
Be prepared to respond quickly to discriminatory comments posted by third parties on your website, blog, or other social media sites. Perform damage control by removing the offensive materials as soon as possible and emphasizing your community’s commitment to fair housing. And look into the subject of the complaint—it could be your first inkling of a potential dispute among neighbors related to a protected characteristic—national origin.
Wrong answers explained:
a. To protect your community from potential liability, you should have a policy and language on your website and social media pages allowing you to remove comments that contain profanity or discriminatory language. Since the comment includes both profanity and an offensive remark about the neighbors’ national origin, you would be justified in removing the comment.
b. Although it’s unclear whether you could be held legally responsible for the resident’s discriminatory comment, simply taking down the offensive comment may not be enough to head off a potential fair housing problem.
QUESTION #3
Correct answer: b
Reason: Rule #4 applies here:
Rule #4: Practice Inclusive Marketing
Unless it is part of a broad, inclusive marketing campaign, you could trigger a fair housing complaint by “target marketing” in only Korean-language media and websites. In general, the law permits you to market to certain groups only if it’s part of a broad and inclusive marketing campaign and you have a valid, nondiscriminatory reason for doing so. In general, that means that if your community has a large population of Korean residents—and you did nothing to create or encourage the situation—you may include Korean-language outlets as part of a wider, diverse marketing campaign.
See The Lesson For This Quiz
| How to Avoid Discrimination Claims When Advertising Online |