AUDITORS on TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube

Who Are AUDITORS?

Auditors are individuals who film and publish interactions with public officials in the UK.

Holding Public Officials Accountable

Officially, an auditor is someone who is responsible for evaluating the validity and reliability of a company or organization's financial records. On social media in the United Kingdom (UK), auditors are members of the public who film interactions with public officials, especially police officers, in order to "audit" their ability to deal correctly with members of the public. Auditors claim they aim to highlight that photography in public places is not a crime and, in doing so, contribute to the public's ability to hold officials accountable.

An American Phenomena

Auditors have been operating in the United States (US) for a number of years. There they are known as "First Amendment Auditors" as, among other things, the first amendment to the US constitution establishes a person's right to film in public places. In the UK, the right to film in public exists simply because there is no law against it.

The Problems with Auditors

Both in the US and the UK, many self-proclaimed auditors now have huge numbers of online followers on social-media channels such as YouTube and TikTok. While the videos of some incidents published by auditors raise serious concerns about the behavior of public officials, especially police officers, many confrontations are deliberately provoked by the auditor, who is often a person who holds a grudge against the police and is only filming in order to gain online followers or undermine public confidence in police officers.

Activist groups working to expose police corruption and violence have expressed concerns about the actions of some auditors, claiming their confrontational attitude promotes public sympathy for the police and their filming of police stations puts at risk victims of crime who are reporting an incident and witnesses who are there to give evidence.

The Official Response to Auditors

In December 2021, the UK's National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) issued guidance to officers on dealing with auditors.

The police sergeant confronted by an auditor in this video was widely praised for his professionalism in dealing with the situation:

Example of AUDITORS Used in a Text