The following is a guest post from Lindsay M. Allen, a PR and communications pro from central Michigan. I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with her on Twitter and meeting her a few times in person this year. Enjoy. -AM

This post has been brewing for awhile — too long, really (and I bet Amy won’t disagree … ha ha ha). It started when I noticed a brand that is near and dear to my heart (and shall therefore remain nameless) making what I felt was a big ol’ Facebook boo-boo, leading me to ponder when — or whether — it’s acceptable click that “Remove” button on the Facebook pages we are called upon, as professional communicators, to moderate.

Back to the inspiration for this post …

Organization X posted on its Facebook fan page, “(Organization X) has some breaking news to officially announce… Stay posted for details.”

Unfortunately for Organization X, there were several other organizations involved in its “big news,” and the scoop was already floating around out there and being reported on by credible mainstream media outlets that regularly cover the organizations involved, including Organization X. Bottom line: Lots of people already knew the “exciting news” and began posting about it in the comments section under the post.

As I revisited the page several times to see when Organization X would finally, officially post the news, I noticed something. The fans’ comments — all positive, excited remarks about the forthcoming news, which also was positive — were being deleted almost as quickly as they were being posted. It was sort of like a a clay-pigeon shoot, communication-style: The comments kept popping up, and someone kept shooting them down … so quickly that it would’ve been impossible to get accurate screen captures of the situation.

I was stunned by, a little angry at, and quite disappointed in Organization X. But then I realized … Organization X and its Facebook gatekeeper(s) probably aren’t alone.

Really?! Are there communicators who need so badly to control their organizations’ messages that they go so far as to delete positive comments about positive news just because they haven’t posted the news yet (probably because a news release is caught up in the review process and stuck on a manager’s desk somewhere)?!

Most conversations I had with people in the aftermath of the situation yielded one opinion: In cases like these, don’t delete! Arment Dietrich PR CEO Gini Dietrich said one of the things I’d been thinking:

Gini also suggested that any deletion of tweets, comments, etc. could be unethical, but I definitely saw something on another Facebook fan page this fall that made me think that a deletion is sometimes justified:

The folks behind the Kohl’s Facebook page removed Gilbert’s comment, and I can’t say I blame them. Would you leave something like that on your company’s Facebook page? Shelby’s “Wow” comment — presumably posted with a “holy crap; I can’t believe someone posted that” sentiment – echoes the likely thoughts that others had upon reading Gilbert’s comment (myself included).

Regardless of whether it was true, would you want to read something like that about a store where you shop? I don’t know about you, but I’m a fan of Kohl’s on Facebook so I can get news about sales … not so I can read about the company’s employees’ sexual exploits with one another. Someone at Kohl’s must’ve thought that, too, since the comment was deleted.

So, the question remains: To delete, or not to delete? And under what circumstances?