Social Media Accessibility Guide
Alt text, captions, ASL, hashtags and emoji practice for Gallaudet department social accounts.
Why this matters
Social media is often the first place someone experiences Gallaudet. For a university serving deaf, hard of hearing, and DeafBlind students, accessible social posts aren’t a nice-to-have — they’re how our community actually receives the information.
You’re required to follow WCAG 2.2 Level AA, the same standard we apply to gallaudet.edu. This guide covers the practical basics for every platform your department posts to.
The five things to check on every post
Before you hit Publish, run through this checklist:
- Alt text on every image and GIF — describe what’s shown, not “image of…”
- Captions on every video — open or platform captions, always
- ASL translation for major announcements — video with ASL, not just captions
- Camel-case hashtags — #DeafEducation, not #deafeducation
- Descriptive links — never “click here”; say what the link leads to
If you can’t meet one of these, wait until you can, or ask the web team.
1. Images and graphics
Alt text
Every image needs alt text — the text description that screen readers announce.
Good alt text:
- Describes what’s important, not what’s decorative
- Includes any text shown in the image (a flyer, a quote graphic, a caption on a photo)
- Is 1–2 sentences, plain language
- Doesn’t start with “image of” or “picture of” (screen readers announce it’s an image already)
Examples:
| ✅ Good | ❌ Not good |
|---|---|
| “Three Gallaudet students in graduation outfits hugging on the lawn in front of Chapel Hall.” | “Grad photo” |
| “Flyer for the annual Deaf Studies conference on October 12. Speakers include Dr. Christine Sun Kim and Dr. Ben Bahan.” | “Conference flyer” |
| “Bison mascot high-fives a first-year student at move-in day.” | “Fun campus moment” |
Where to put alt text on each platform
- Instagram: When creating a post → Advanced Settings → Alt Text. Do this before you publish; editing after saves poorly.
- Facebook: When creating a post → hover over the image → click the pencil → Edit Alt Text.
- X / Twitter: Click ALT in the corner of the uploaded image → describe. Requires the setting enabled in Accessibility preferences.
- LinkedIn: When uploading an image → Alt text field appears in the image editor. Always fill it in.
- TikTok: Add descriptions in the caption itself since TikTok’s alt text support is limited. Also use the auto-generated captions.
- YouTube: Use the video title and description; alt text isn’t a concept there.
Purely decorative images
If an image adds no meaning (a colored border, a decorative flourish), leave the alt text empty on platforms that allow it. Never write “decorative image” — screen readers will read that verbatim.
Text in images
Avoid images that are mostly text. Screen readers can’t read text embedded in an image without alt text. If you must post a text-heavy graphic (a flyer, a quote card, an infographic):
- Put the full text of the image in the post caption so it’s readable natively
- Or repeat it in the alt text
Rule of thumb: if the image disappeared, would people still understand your post? If not, the text needs to be in the caption too.
2. Video
Captions
Every video needs captions. No exceptions.
- Human-corrected captions are the standard. Auto-captions are a starting point, not a finish line. Auto-captions typically hit ~80% accuracy — that’s a failing grade for a deaf-serving university.
- Open captions (burned into the video) are the safest bet because they work everywhere, including when the platform strips closed captions on re-shares.
- If you use closed captions, upload a .srt or .vtt file to the platform. Don’t rely on auto-caption alone.
Where auto-captions on each platform stand:
| Platform | Reliable auto-captions? | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Decent but requires correction | Correct them before publishing |
| Instagram Reels / Stories | Available; needs review | Turn on, then edit for accuracy |
| TikTok | Available; needs review | Turn on, then edit for accuracy |
| Available; needs review | Turn on, then edit for accuracy | |
| Yes; needs review | Correct or upload SRT | |
| X / Twitter | Auto-caption is limited | Upload SRT for anything important |
ASL translation
For major announcements, cultural moments, presidential communications, and admissions/emergency content — post an ASL video, not just a captioned English video. Captions serve English readers; ASL serves the community whose primary language is ASL.
Audio description
Add audio description (spoken narration of visual events) when the video shows things that aren’t otherwise conveyed by dialogue — silent action, on-screen text, visual jokes. For most social posts this is optional, but for longer form storytelling it matters.
Autoplay
If a video autoplays with sound, that’s a WCAG failure (Success Criterion 1.4.2). Every major platform mutes autoplay by default now — verify your posts respect that.
3. Captions and text on your posts
Emojis
Screen readers read emoji names out loud — sometimes exhaustively. A row of 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 becomes “party popper, party popper, party popper, party popper, party popper.”
Rules:
- Use emojis intentionally, not decoratively
- Never use them mid-word or as substitutes for letters (“gr8” over “🎱r8”)
- Put them at the end of a sentence, not the middle, so they don’t interrupt the meaning
- Don’t repeat the same emoji more than twice in a row
- Don’t use emojis in place of actual words that carry information
Hashtags
Always use CamelCase (also called PascalCase) so screen readers can identify separate words:
| ✅ Good | ❌ Not good |
|---|---|
| #DeafEducation | #deafeducation |
| #BisonPride | #bisonpride |
| #GallaudetGrad2026 | #gallaudetgrad2026 |
Without camel-case, screen readers try to pronounce hashtags as single words — often unintelligibly.
Put hashtags at the end of the post, not mid-sentence. Screen readers pause and announce each one; interrupting the sentence with hashtags fragments the meaning.
Links
- Never use “click here” or “read more” as the link text. Say what the link is.
- Shorten links with bit.ly or a link shortener only when the platform imposes length limits — long URLs are announced letter-by-letter by screen readers, which is exhausting.
- Say what’s on the other side: “Read the full announcement at gu.live/spring-events” is better than “Click for details.”
Text formatting tricks
Don’t use Unicode “stylish” text (𝕭𝖔𝖑𝖉, 𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓬, ᴜᴘsɪᴅᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴ) for emphasis. Screen readers can’t read these characters — they either skip them or announce each one individually as an obscure Unicode code point.
Use the platform’s native formatting if it has one (LinkedIn’s bold, for example) or plain text with normal punctuation for emphasis.
ALL CAPS
Sparingly. Screen readers read ALL CAPS letter-by-letter on some settings, and it fatigues sighted readers too. Use for one or two words for emphasis, never for a full sentence.
4. Color, contrast, and layout
Graphics you create
If you’re using Canva, Adobe Express, or similar to create post graphics:
- Text contrast: dark text on light background OR light text on dark background. Test at webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker. WCAG 2.2 AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text (18pt+ or 14pt+ bold).
- Don’t rely on color alone: if information is only conveyed by color (green = go, red = stop), add a symbol or word too. About 8% of men are colorblind.
- Font size: minimum 16pt for body text on graphics viewed on mobile.
- Line height: at least 1.5x the font size for readability.
Gallaudet brand colors
Reliable AA-passing combinations from our brand palette:
- White text on blue #0F4D81 — passes AAA (8.2:1)
- Blue #0F4D81 text on white — passes AAA (8.2:1)
- Yellow #EFCA77 on blue #0F4D81 — passes AA large text (5.1:1) — for headlines/accents only, not body text
- Do NOT use yellow #EFCA77 on white — fails contrast
5. Timing and motion
Auto-advancing content
- Stories that auto-advance every few seconds are OK — they’re a platform pattern users expect.
- Videos that autoplay with sound are not OK (Success Criterion 1.4.2). Verify audio is muted on autoplay.
Flashing content
Nothing should flash more than 3 times per second (Success Criterion 2.3.1). If you’re posting concert clips, sports highlights, or reels with strobe effects — cut or dim the flashing sequences. Photosensitive epilepsy can be triggered by flashing content.
If you can’t avoid it, add a warning at the start of the video: “⚠ Contains flashing lights.”
Motion in graphics
Animated GIFs and looping videos that auto-play are fine on most platforms, but:
- Users who have “reduce motion” enabled may see a static frame instead — make sure the first frame conveys the message
- Don’t rely on animation to communicate essential information
6. Live content
Live streams and events
- Provide live captions — YouTube Live, Facebook Live, and X have live-caption options. Turn them on.
- Provide ASL interpreting for major live events (commencement, presidential addresses, admitted-student events).
- Announce accessibility features at the start of the stream: “This event has ASL interpreting and captions available.”
Live Q&A / AMAs
- Read each question aloud so it’s captured in captions
- Repeat back the question before answering (helps everyone follow)
7. Platform-specific quirks
- Alt text hidden behind Advanced Settings — easy to forget. Make it habit.
- Stories auto-generate captions but they’re often wrong — check them.
- Reels alt text is limited; put descriptive text in the caption.
- Alt text is auto-generated by AI as a fallback. It’s usually vague (“May be an image of one person”). Always override with your own.
- Live videos need manual captions or a real-time captioning service.
X / Twitter
- Enable image descriptions in your settings, then always fill them in.
- Threads: number your tweets (1/, 2/, 3/) so screen readers understand the sequence.
- Alt text prompts you on every image upload — no excuse to skip.
- Videos default to captions off; verify captions render correctly.
TikTok
- Alt text support is limited — describe images in the caption itself.
- Auto-captions are decent but need review for names, jargon, and ASL vocabulary.
YouTube
- Every video must have captions (upload SRT or correct the auto-captions).
- Video description should include a summary — don’t rely on the video alone.
Quick reference: the WCAG 2.2 AA rules this maps to
For anyone who needs to cite the standard:
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Non-text Content | Alt text on every image |
| 1.2.1 Audio-only / Video-only | Transcript or ASL translation |
| 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) | Captions on every video |
| 1.2.4 Captions (Live) | Live captions on livestreams |
| 1.2.5 Audio Description | Audio description on video |
| 1.4.2 Audio Control | No autoplay with sound |
| 1.4.3 Contrast Minimum | 4.5:1 text contrast |
| 2.1.1 Keyboard | (Platform’s responsibility, not yours) |
| 2.3.1 Three Flashes | No content flashing >3 times/sec |
| 3.1.1 Language | Post in the reader’s expected language |
| 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value | (Platform’s responsibility) |
When you’re not sure
- Try it with VoiceOver (Mac) or your phone’s built-in screen reader. Turn it on for 60 seconds and listen to your post. If it doesn’t make sense to you, it won’t make sense to a screen reader user either.
- Ask the web team at gu.live/request.
Need help?
Submit a ticket at gu.live/request for:
- Help writing alt text for a complex image
- Guidance on video captioning tools we support
- Bulk migration questions (a whole account’s back catalog)
- Anything else accessibility-related on social
The web team responds within 5 business days.
