Communication of Public Organisations for People with Hearing Disabilities: Challenges on Facebook

Abstract

Social media platforms provide public organisations with important opportunities for information dissemination, audience participation, and implementation of accessibility-orientated communication practices. As legal entities advancing public interests, public organisations are responsible for ensuring that their social media communication is accessible to various social groups, including persons with hearing disabilities. This study examines the communication challenges facing a public organisation in ensuring accessible communication for people with hearing disabilities on Facebook from an organisational perspective. Using a mixed-method research design that combines quantitative content analysis and semi-structured expert interviews, the study analyses empirical data from the Facebook account of the Lithuanian Sign Language Interpreting Centre and insights from its communication experts. The findings reveal irregular and inconsistent communication practices, limited use of accessibility-orientated content formats, and fragmented implementation of video captioning and plain language principles. The study concludes that although accessibility is emphasised as a core communication objective by organisational representatives, a persistent gap remains between the intended strategies and their practical implementation in daily Facebook communication.