Social media posts & profiles

The five gates, for this item type

Neutral education — each gate runs separately, and passing one is never presented as admissibility. The Five Gates page carries the full statutory walk.

• Relevance

  A post matters when it bears on an issue — claimed income versus a lifestyle post, a parenting representation versus conduct. Volume without connection commonly invites a § 90.403 response.

• Authentication

  Expect the account-versus-author question: who controls the account, and what ties this post to that person? Distinctive content, replies, and account history commonly carry it.

• Hearsay

  The other party's own post is one posture; a friend's comment about them is another statement entirely, with its own layer.

• Best evidence

  Capture the post with its URL, handle, and timestamp visible; platforms delete and edit — the capture date matters.

• Privilege

  Rarely in play for public posts — but private groups and messages shade into the direct-message analysis.

The organizer checklist

Generic, neutral, and yours to select from — organization, never legal acts. The Evidence Organizer is where the log lives.

• ▪Capture the full post: handle, timestamp, URL, and surrounding thread
• ▪Record WHEN you captured it — platforms edit and delete
• ▪Note how you know the account belongs to the person
• ▪Do not interact with the other party's accounts to generate content
• ▪Log each item in the Evidence Organizer with its date and issue tag

Objections to expect — as education

• HearsayThe objection says the item is an out-of-court statement offered to prove what it asserts.
• Lack of authenticationThe objection says nobody has shown the item is what it claims to be — the condition precedent the statute states in one sentence..
• Unfair prejudice (§ 90.403)The objection concedes the item may be relevant but says its probative value is substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice, confusion, or waste of time — the weighing objection..