For Video, Social Media, and External-Facing Products (USG / Embassy)

Purpose:
Create clear stop-points so bad products don’t drift forward through momentum, hierarchy, or “we already spent time on this.”

This is not about blame. It’s about institutional self-protection.

I. Hard Stop Rules (Automatic — No Discretion)

If any of the following are present, the product does not move forward until resolved.

1) Policy Commitment Risk

Stop if the product:

  • Implies a treaty, guarantee, endorsement, sanction, or policy change
  • Suggests future U.S. action not already publicly announced
  • Uses verbs like will, commits to, guarantees, ensures without citation

Action:
→ Escalate to policy owner (desk / bureau) for explicit clearance or removal.

2) Claim Without a Source

Stop if the product:

  • Makes factual claims without a public, attributable source
  • Paraphrases policy without anchoring language (“supports,” “welcomes,” etc.)
  • Relies on inference without labeling it as such

Action:
→ Require source insertion or claim deletion.

3) Audience Mismatch

Stop if the product:

  • Mixes domestic US audiences with foreign publics
  • Uses internal shorthand or Congressional framing for foreign audiences
  • Assumes knowledge the audience does not have

Action:
→ Re-scope to one audience or split into separate products.

4) Clearance Ambiguity

Stop if:

  • It’s unclear who has final approval authority
  • Content changed after clearance
  • Clearance is “assumed” or verbal only

Action:
→ Freeze product until authority is explicit and documented.

II. Soft Stop Rules (Supervisor Judgment Required)

These trigger pause and revision, not automatic escalation.

5) Over-Interpretation Risk

Pause if:

  • Language could be read more strongly than intended
  • Headlines/captions could be misread when stripped of context
  • Visuals amplify claims beyond text

Fix:
→ Add non-claim language or tighten verbs.

6) Compression Risk (Video/Social)

Pause if:

  • Nuance was lost for brevity
  • One sentence is carrying too much meaning
  • Cut-down versions change meaning

Fix:
→ Rebuild BLUF; don’t “patch” with disclaimers.

7) Tone Drift

Pause if:

  • Product sounds celebratory where policy is cautious
  • Moral language replaces factual description
  • Emotional music/visuals bias interpretation

Fix:
→ Neutralize tone; re-anchor in observable facts.

III. Escalation Ladder (Who Gets Involved, and When)

Use the lowest effective level.

  1. Content Owner (FSO / LES lead)
    → Fix wording, sourcing, structure
  2. Section Head / PD Officer
    → Policy alignment, audience framing
  3. Bureau / Desk Officer
    → Substantive policy risk or ambiguity
  4. Front Office
    → High-visibility, sensitive, or precedent-setting products

Rule:
Escalation is about authority, not seniority.

IV. “Do Not Fix—Stop” Conditions

Do not rewrite endlessly if:

  • The purpose is unclear after one revision
  • The audience cannot be clearly defined
  • The product exists only because “we usually do one”

Action:
→ Kill the product. Document why. Move on.

V. Minimal Escalation Note (1–2 sentences)

When escalating, use this format only:

“This product pauses due to [specific risk].
Decision needed: [approve / revise / drop].”

No essays. No defensiveness.

VI. Why This Matters (Institutional Logic)

  • Most failures happen after good intentions
  • Momentum is not authority
  • Silence during review becomes implied approval
  • Bad products don’t fail immediately—they fail later, publicly

These rules create permission to stop, which institutions rarely grant explicitly.