Making Social Media Posts Accessible WashU Web Accessibility Users Group April 2019

Some WCAG 2.1 Guidelines That Apply 1.1 Text alternatives “Provide text alternatives for any non-text content...” (exceptions include decorative images) 1.2 Time-based media “Provide alternatives for time-based media.” WCAG 2.1 Guidelines

Facebook: Photos Facebook generates automatic alt-text Uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) object recognition technology to automatically generate a description of a posted photo. This creates very limited information like “may contain two people, smiling, standing.” Debuted in 2016 Users can create custom alt-text Add it as you upload the photo (Edit Photo > Alt Text > Override generated alt text) Or edit after posting (click on photo; Options > Change Alt Text > Override generated alt text) Alt-text can only be edited on a computer or iOS device (not Android)

Facebook: Videos Use Facebook’s automatic video captioning Then edit for clarity Or add closed captioning by uploading a transcript in SubRip format (.srt) Contains sequential counter, start and end timecodes, subtitle text, a blank line to separate sequential entries Example from Wikipedia: Facebook Accessibility “Like” the Facebook Accessibility page (@accessibility) Follow @fbaccess on Twitter

Instagram: Photos Instagram generates automatic alternative text (alt-text) descriptions Uses AI like Facebook Applies when you use Feed, Explore, or Profile Debuted in November 2018 Users can create custom alt-text descriptions Edit auto-generated descriptions for clarity Add as you upload the photo (via Advanced Settings) or edit the alt-text after you post Instagram Alt Text

Instagram: Videos and Stories Write a caption for a video you’re posting or add it after you’ve posted No captioning options in Instagram for stories You can use a third party app (options on Apple devices: Cliptomatic or Apple Clips) to add and edit live captions for a video before you upload it Instagram Captions

Twitter: Photos Users must first enable the ability to create image descriptions Profile > Settings and Privacy > Accessibility > turn Compose image descriptions on Debuted 2016 on Twitter.com; 2018 on mobile Twitter Once enabled, users can add and edit image descriptions As you upload the photo, click on thumbnail preview Add description > Enter description > Apply Limit is 420 characters Twitter generates automatic alt-text that lists the people who are tagged

Twitter: Videos, GIFs, Moments No captions or alt-text available for these options Add a description for your moment when you create it Add a description of your video in the body of your tweet Or use a third party app to add and edit captions for a video before you upload it

Twitter: Hash Tags and Mentions Use camelback hashtags (capitalize the first letter of each word) for ease of interpretation by screen readers (e.g., #HashTag) Put hashtags and mentions (e.g., @wustl_official) at the end of your post instead of in the middle Twitter Accessibility; Follow @TwitterA11y (those are ones in the middle of the name); search #A11y

Twitter: Other When you tweet a hyperlink, include a descriptor to let users know what to expect (e.g., [AUDIO], [PIC], or [VIDEO]); maybe use mixed-case instead of all-caps Use shortened URLs For more info, visit University of MN, Accessible U Note 1: @AccessibleU is not UMN’s active Twitter account Note 2: University of MN website may not be as up-to-date as each of the vendor platform websites

YouTube: Videos (Manual Caption) Post your Video Use Video Manager > choose video > Edit > Subtitles/CC Two options for manually loading captions Upload a caption file (contains text and time codes) Upload a File > Subtitles > choose file > Edit > Publish Upload a transcript file (text only, .txt) Upload a File > Transcript > choose file > Set Timings (to sync it with video) > Edit > Publish when correct

YouTube: Videos (Auto-Caption) Post your Video Use Video Manager > choose video > Edit > Subtitles/CC If YouTube already auto-generated captions, your video will be marked as Published: English (Automatic) (or another language). Click the link English (Automatic) Review text and timing; Edit using YouTube tools Publish again

YouTube: Videos (Search for CC) Captioned videos are marked on YouTube.com with a CC, but this doesn’t reflect the quality of the captioning To search for videos that are captioned: Type search terms into the Search bar; click Search > Filter > Features > Subtitles/CC Or type search terms +“,cc” into the Search bar; click Search (e.g., “accessibility, cc”) National Center on Disability and Access to Education (NCDAE) One-Page Cheat Sheet

Social Media: Additional Considerations Use appropriate color contrast Don’t rely on color alone for meaning Use mixed-case letters instead of all caps If posting a picture of text, make sure it can be enlarged without loss of quality Limit the use of emojis Convey the spirit of your post, including humor, if appropriate Use a screen reader to test your posts

Questions?