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Disinformation and the PR Industry
Between Trump’s and the GOP’s disregard for the truth, and the unwillingness of the major social platforms — Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter — to remove provably false or purposely doctored information from reaching its users, America is poised for a whole lot of hurt in 2020.
Now comes the news, thanks to some nifty reporting by Buzzfeed, of how some public relations firms are offering services that leverage the flaws in how the world gets its news and information. In its piece “Disinformation for Hire: How a New Breed of PR Firms is Selling Lies Online,” the authors write:
“If disinformation in 2016 was characterized by Macedonian spammers pushing pro-Trump fake news and Russian trolls running rampant on platforms, 2020 is shaping up to be the year communications pros for hire provide sophisticated online propaganda operations to anyone willing to pay. Around the globe, politicians, parties, governments, and other clients hire what is known in the industry as “black PR” firms to spread lies and manipulate online discourse.”
In my January 2017 piece “ When PR Turned to the Dark Side,” I highlighted the beginnings of this dangerous trend, but held out some hope that the industry, driven by PRSA’s code of ethics, would not succumb to the unscrupulous tactics deployed by a growing cadre of nefarious actors. I’m now beginning to believe…
