The Editor-in-Chief has overall responsibility for all JSOMER content, including special issues, themed collections, invited collections, conference-related collections, and other guest-edited content. Appointing Guest Editors does not transfer responsibility for scholarly quality, scope, peer-review integrity, conflicts of interest, publication ethics, final decisions, or protection of the scholarly record.

Guest Editors work under the supervision of the Editor-in-Chief or a designated permanent editor. Special issues must advance rigorous social media research and must not be used primarily to increase publication volume, generate citations, promote individuals or institutions, or bypass regular editorial standards.

Every special issue must fall clearly within JSOMER’s aims and scope. Social media must constitute a substantive component of the research questions, theory, methods, data, or interpretation, regardless of the disciplinary origin of the theme.

A proposal may be declined when it is outside scope, excessively broad, insufficiently defined, duplicative without justification, primarily promotional or commercial, academically weak, likely to create biased commissioning or editorial endogeny, or unable to meet the journal’s ethical and peer-review standards.

A special issue may be proposed by editors, Board members, scholars, research networks, academic organizations, or another qualified academic party. Submission does not guarantee approval.

• proposed title, theme, rationale, originality, timeliness, and relevance to JSOMER;
• manuscript types, indicative topics or questions, keywords, and intended audience;
• names, affiliations, countries, professional email addresses, ORCID iDs, biographies, and verifiable profiles of proposed Guest Editors;
• relevant publication, subject, editorial, and peer-review experience;
• actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest;
• draft call for papers, timetable, deadline, and anticipated submission and publication volume;
• connections with conferences, projects, organizations, sponsors, or funders; and
• measures for protecting editorial independence.

Potential-contributor lists may be used for planning but do not guarantee invitation, review, acceptance, or publication. Completed manuscripts must not be presented as automatically accepted components of a proposal.

The Editor-in-Chief evaluates proposals and may seek advice from permanent editors, Board members, or independent specialists. Evaluation considers scope, originality, scholarly contribution, feasibility, Guest Editor qualifications, timeline, reviewer availability, conflicts, concentration risks, commissioning bias, citation or review manipulation risks, overlap with other content, and journal capacity.

JSOMER may approve, request revision, impose conditions, appoint additional oversight, modify scope or timing, postpone, or decline a proposal. Written approval is required before announcing a call for papers or soliciting manuscripts in JSOMER’s name. Approval may be withdrawn when the proposal, Guest Editors, submissions, or process no longer meets journal standards.

Guest Editors are selected for relevant expertise, professional integrity, a verifiable publication record, and the ability to manage fair and rigorous editorial work. JSOMER may verify identity, affiliation, professional email, ORCID, academic profiles, publication record, expertise, editorial experience, previous guest-editing activity, corrections or retractions, integrity concerns, conflicts, and willingness to follow journal policies.

Academic title, institutional prestige, personal relationships, publication volume, social-media visibility, or recruitment capacity alone do not justify appointment. An appointment may be declined or withdrawn when credentials cannot be verified, expertise is insufficient, conflicts cannot be managed, information is misleading, integrity concerns are credible, or conduct could undermine editorial independence.

Appointments become effective only after formal approval and written acceptance of the role and responsibilities.

Guest Editors must follow JSOMER’s scope and policies, maintain independence and confidentiality, disclose conflicts, support accurate calls for papers, recommend qualified independent reviewers, assess reports critically, make evidence-based recommendations, monitor quality and progress, identify integrity concerns, and cooperate with audits and post-publication inquiries.

• Do not guarantee acceptance, review, publication, or accelerated treatment.
• Do not bypass administrative screening or independent peer review.
• Do not use the role for personal, institutional, financial, or professional benefit.
• Do not pressure authors to cite Guest Editors, JSOMER, or a preferred network.
• Do not assign conflicted reviewers or disclose confidential information.
• Do not upload confidential submissions to unauthorized AI systems.
• Do not add unapproved Guest Editors or transfer duties to unapproved persons.

Guest Editor recommendations are advisory unless limited authority is delegated formally in writing. The Editor-in-Chief retains oversight in all cases.

The Editor-in-Chief or a designated permanent editor may review calls for papers, scope, submissions, reviewer choices, conflicts, recommendations, decision patterns, review duration, report quality, citation patterns, institutional concentration, Guest Editor-authored content, and complete peer-review records.

Journal oversight may include reassigning manuscripts, rejecting inappropriate reviewers, seeking additional review, replacing or supplementing Guest Editors, overriding unsupported recommendations, making final decisions, suspending submissions or reviews, removing manuscripts from the collection, closing the special issue, or initiating an integrity assessment.

Audits may occur before, during, or after peer review.

A call for papers requires prior approval by the Editor-in-Chief and should state the title, scope, scholarly rationale, Guest Editors, deadline, manuscript types, peer-review model, regular ethical and reporting requirements, fee and open-access model, official submission route, and the fact that submission does not guarantee review, acceptance, or publication.

Promotional communications must be accurate, professional, targeted, and unobtrusive. They must not guarantee acceptance, promise unrealistic speed, misrepresent indexing or sponsorship, imply favorable treatment, promote citation advantages, conceal the journal or sender, use aggressive repeated solicitation, or request payment outside official procedures.

Invited and unsolicited manuscripts are subject to the same scholarly, ethical, and peer-review standards. Contributor selection should avoid excessive reliance on close collaborators, institutional colleagues, personal networks, or narrow geographic groups.

All manuscripts must be submitted through JSOMER’s official system. Material sent directly to Guest Editors is not a formal submission until entered into the manuscript-management system.

Special issue manuscripts undergo the same administrative screening as regular submissions, including files, anonymization, authorship, conflicts, funding, ethics and consent, data availability, AI use, reporting guidelines, originality, copyright, permissions, and author-guideline compliance.

Initial assessment considers journal and collection scope, originality, contribution, methods, ethics, reporting, clarity, and suitability for review. A manuscript may be declined without external review or, with author agreement, transferred to the regular track when suitable for JSOMER but not for the collection. Transfer does not guarantee acceptance.

Reviewers must be independent of the authors, Guest Editors, research, relevant institutions, and interests that could affect impartiality. Guest Editors may recommend reviewers, but appointments require verification and approval by the responsible journal editor.

• Do not use unverifiable or suspicious reviewer accounts.
• Do not rely primarily on author-suggested reviewers without independent verification.
• Do not appoint close associates, conflicted persons, coordinated favorable reviewers, or participants in citation manipulation.
• Do not make decisions by merely counting reviewer recommendations.

Final editorial responsibility remains with the Editor-in-Chief or an independent permanent editor formally authorized by the Editor-in-Chief. Guest Editors may recommend acceptance, revision, resubmission, or decline, but no manuscript may be accepted solely on a Guest Editor recommendation.

The responsible editor evaluates the manuscript, reviewer expertise and reasoning, author responses, methodological and ethical issues, conflicts, policy compliance, and the Guest Editor recommendation. The responsible editor may accept, modify, reject, or request further support for that recommendation. The publisher does not direct acceptance or rejection.

Guest Editors must disclose actual, potential, and reasonably perceived conflicts before appointment, during proposal evaluation, at manuscript assignment, when circumstances change, and whenever requested.

A Guest Editor must not handle a manuscript when the Guest Editor is an author, contributed to the work, has a close relationship or recent collaboration with an author, supervises or is supervised by an author, has a direct institutional, academic, competitive, financial, intellectual, or dispute-related interest, or cannot act impartially for another reason.

Conflicted manuscripts must be assigned to independent editors. Equivalent requirements apply to the Editor-in-Chief, permanent editors, Board members, reviewers, publisher, and staff.

Guest Editors may submit manuscripts but receive no preferential treatment, guaranteed review, favorable consideration, or publication priority. Their manuscripts must be handled entirely by an independent editor and reviewed by at least two qualified and independent reviewers.

The percentage equals the number of special issue articles with at least one Guest Editor author divided by the total number of articles in the special issue, multiplied by 100. An article with several Guest Editors is counted once.

If inclusion would exceed the maximum, the article must not be included in the special issue. Independently reviewed work may be considered for the regular track only when suitable, approved independently, within scope, and not given preferential treatment. Articles must not be reclassified, delayed, transferred, or scheduled deceptively to create artificial compliance.

When a Guest Editor-authored article is published, the article must disclose the relationship and independent safeguards.

Equivalent statements should identify safeguards when another editor, Board member, reviewer, or the publisher is an author.

JSOMER seeks to avoid excessive concentration among Guest Editors, Board members, reviewers, a single institution or country, close research networks, conferences, projects, funders, or frequent collaborators. Concentration does not automatically establish misconduct but may require stronger independent oversight.

Special issues should provide meaningful scholarly breadth and must not function mainly as publication venues for Guest Editors or their networks. The Editorial Office may monitor affiliations, coauthorship, reviewer relationships, citations, acceptance rates, invited versus unsolicited submissions, and Guest Editor authorship percentages.

Guest Editors and reviewers must not pressure authors to cite Guest Editors, JSOMER, the collection, preferred authors, institutions, or irrelevant references. Unusual concentration, reciprocal citation, or coordinated citation behavior may lead to additional review, reassignment, rejection, suspension, or integrity investigation.

JSOMER monitors special issues for false identities, fraudulent email accounts, paper mills, manipulated review, inappropriate authorship, redundant publication, plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, superficial reports, unusual acceptance patterns, undisclosed conflicts, citation cartels, inappropriate AI use, and unauthorized third-party involvement.

Credible concerns may lead to immediate suspension of submissions, reviews, decisions, or publication; reassignment; Guest Editor replacement; record audits; requests for evidence; institutional contact; Expressions of Concern; or termination of the special issue.

Confidential manuscripts, supplements, reports, responses, and correspondence must not be uploaded to unauthorized AI systems. AI must not replace editorial judgment, generate unverified reviews, fabricate identities, make automated decisions, manipulate citations, or compromise privacy, intellectual property, and data protection.

Connections with conferences, research projects, professional organizations, funded initiatives, sponsors, or institutional partners must be disclosed in the proposal and public call. Association does not guarantee publication of conference papers, project outputs, invited contributions, or member submissions.

Every manuscript must enter through the official system, meet scope and ethics requirements, undergo independent review, and receive an independent editorial decision. Conference acceptance, presentation, awards, membership, grant participation, or sponsorship do not constitute journal acceptance.

JSOMER charges no submission, APC, publication, special issue, or Guest Editor fees. Guest Editors must not request or collect payment, promise publication for payment or participation, accept payment linked to acceptance, create paid services implying favorable treatment, or use the collection for commercial solicitation. Financial or in-kind support must be disclosed and must not influence decisions.

Approval does not guarantee a publication date or article count. Publication depends on suitable submissions, independent review, resolution of integrity concerns, author revisions, editorial approval, production readiness, and the journal schedule. Unsuitable articles must not be accepted to fill a planned issue size or deadline.

JSOMER may extend or close submissions, publish fewer articles, divide a collection, publish articles in regular issues with thematic labeling, postpone, or cancel the project. Authors should be informed when material changes affect their submissions.

Special issue articles must be clearly identified on collection and article pages and, where technically possible, in PDFs and metadata. Labeling must preserve the journal title, ISSN, DOI, publication date, article type, and normal citation information.

The Editorial Office maintains records of proposals, approvals, Guest Editor verification, conflict declarations, role acceptance, calls for papers, submissions, decisions, reviewers, reports, recommendations, independent handling, Guest Editor-authored manuscripts, authorship percentages, integrity concerns, timeline or scope changes, final approval, and post-publication actions.

Before publication, the Editor-in-Chief or designated permanent editor should verify scope and thematic relevance, independent external review, conflict management, compliance with the 25% maximum, required editorial independence statements, clear labeling, and absence of unresolved concerns that make publication inappropriate.

JSOMER may revise, suspend, or cancel a special issue when scope changes, too few suitable manuscripts are received, Guest Editors do not fulfill responsibilities, standards are not maintained, conflicts cannot be managed, review integrity is at risk, identities are unreliable, solicitation or citation practices are inappropriate, integrity concerns arise, deadlines cannot be met responsibly, or continuation would undermine trust.

Cancellation does not automatically decide the outcome of manuscripts already under review. With author agreement and independent assessment, affected manuscripts may continue in the regular track, be reassigned, be withdrawn, or be declined when appropriate handling cannot be maintained.

Complaints and appeals are handled under the Complaints and Appeals Policy. Special issue articles receive the same post-publication oversight as regular articles, including clarification requests, correction, Expression of Concern, retraction, exceptional removal, institutional referral, or audit. Guest Editors must cooperate even after their appointment ends.