It is reported from time to time that the PR industry’s image stinks. And it’s not news that there is considerable distrust of PR practitioners by their media cousins. Many journalists don’t try to hide their contempt for PR people – which can be attributed to a mixture of irritation and genuine concern about the dubious tactics that are sometimes employed.
Some of the tactics criticised by journalists present issues more perceptual than real, but others pose serious problems that need to be excised from PR root and branch.
The perceptual problems may be referred to as ‘grey PR’. While not necessarily unethical, these tactics need to be scrutinised before being employed. They include offering free trips to journalists, stunts presented as serious activities (‘Headache Awareness Week’), research designed for marketing purposes or what is termed as ‘white spin’ – arguments based on legitimately-held beliefs but that emphasise such views to the exclusion or diminution of others.
Grey PR is selective without being untruthful. It requires close ethical scrutiny before use.
Then there’s ‘black PR’, which is unambiguously unethical because it deliberately denies people the honest information they require to make reasonable decisions. In effect, black PR is a coercive force in society. And in denying proper information it can do harm.
It can take any of these forms:
a. Astroturfing. Phony grassroots campaigns initiated to provide the appearance of mass community action. The funding source of the astroturf campaign is hidden, as are its true motives, and therein lies its dishonesty.
b. Disinformation. Deliberately spreading information known to be false.
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