Organised lying and professional legitimacy: Public relations’ accountability in the disinformation debate

Edwards, Lee

doi:10.1177/0267323120966851

Cited by 24 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…Some of these mechanisms are at the center of the economy of online misinformation—how and by whom misinformation campaigns are funded, what infrastructure they use to sustain themselves materially, or whether they manage to make any profit ( Freelon & Wells, 2020 ; Howard, 2020 ). Interest in the political economy of online misinformation has recently been growing, as evidenced by the studies of Edwards (2021) , Han (2015) , and Ong and Cabañes (2019) . Our article follows on from these empirically focused studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The political economy of digital profiteering: communication resource mobilization by anti-vaccination actors

Herasimenka

George

et al. 2022

Journal of Communication

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Contemporary communication requires both a supply of content and a digital information infrastructure. Modern campaigns of misinformation are especially dependent on that back-end infrastructure for tracking and targeting a sympathetic audience and generating revenue that can sustain the campaign financially—if not enable profiteering. However, little is known about the political economy of misinformation, particularly those campaigns spreading misleading or harmful content about public health guidelines and vaccination programs. To understand the political economy of health misinformation, we analyze the content and infrastructure networks of 59 groups involved in communicating misinformation about vaccination programs. With a unique collection of tracker and communication infrastructure data, we demonstrate how the political economy of misinformation depends on platform monetization infrastructures. We offer a theory of communication resource mobilization that advances understanding of the communicative context, organizational interactions, and political outcomes of misinformation production.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The political economy of digital profiteering: communication resource mobilization by anti-vaccination actors

Herasimenka

George

et al. 2022

Journal of Communication

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“…Zerfass et al , 2020b). A small but important group of studies also provides a critical reflection, questioning the utility of social media and artificial intelligence for publics, organizations and public relations (Bachmann, 2019; Buhmann et al , 2020; Edwards, 2021; Gregory and Halff, 2020; Valentini, 2015).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digitalization in corporate communications: understanding the emergence and consequences of CommTech and digital infrastructure

Brockhaus

Buhmann

Zerfaß

2022

CCIJ

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PurposeThis article studies the digitalization of corporate communications and the emergence of communication technology (CommTech). The authors show communicators' expectations regarding digitalization, gauge the current level of digitalization across communication departments and agencies and examine the effectiveness of strategic approaches to manage digitalization.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conceptualize the phenomenon of CommTech and propose a framework for studying CommTech's emergence and consequences by combining (1) recent theorizing on digitalization in corporate communications, (2) the concept of digital maturity from information systems research and (3) a socio-technical approach to analyze the development of work systems. The authors apply this framework in a quantitative study (n = 2,664) among communication practitioners from 46 countries.FindingsWhile digitalization of both communication activities and the underlying support infrastructure is seen as critically important among communicators, a large fraction of communication departments and agencies are still assessed as digitally immature. Further, data reveal the relevance of different (technology, tasks, structure and people) dimensions of digitalization strategies and the influence of such strategies on the digital maturity of communications.Practical implicationsThe framework and empirical instruments developed in this study help practitioners to uncover and evaluate the level of digital maturity of communication departments and agencies. This allows to identify current challenges and future opportunities for improvement.Originality/valueThe authors propose a concise definition for the much-debated concept of CommTech and develop a new theoretical framework for understanding CommTech's emergence and consequences in the profession. This empirical work constitutes the first large-scale study on the digital maturity of communication departments and agencies.

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“…In this respect, the opposite is also true. Edwards (2021) argues that "the role of the public relations industry in the disinformation debate has been largely overlooked," while disinformation is, in fact, "a well-established tool in public relations work" used as a "commercial opportunity and a platform for demonstrating professional legitimacy" (p. 168). Place & Vardeman-Winter (2013) have also pointed at public relations as a biopower tool, making society align with hegemonic industry discourses regarding the control and management of life.…”

Section: The Role Of Persuasion In Compassion Towards Nonhuman Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lobbying against compassion: a review of the ethics of persuasion when nonhuman animal suffering is involved

Almirón

Aranceta-Reboredo

2022

m.rcs

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This paper departs from a critical animal studies perspective—that is a perspective critical with speciesist anthropocentrism—in order to problematize public relations by industries harming other animals. To this end, it reviews the ethical and theoretical frameworks raised by critical public relations in order to adopt a critical stance towards what we call here “lobbying against compassion”—the practice of public relations, mainly lobbying, to justify the exploitation of nonhuman animals by some industries. We first examine the role of compassion as a strong motivator for prosocial behaviours as discussed by philosophy and social psychology. Second, we examine compassion towards animals from the lens of public relations and communication. Third, we conduct a literature review to identify the ethical frameworks raised by previous critical public relations literature, which can also be used to justify the cultivation of compassion toward other animals. Finally, we argue that an ethics of persuasion that incorporates compassion towards the suffering of other animals—and therefore avoids endorsing animal suffering—is unavoidable for public relations theory and practice to be ethically reinforced.

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Organised lying and professional legitimacy: Public relations’ accountability in the disinformation debate

Cited by 24 publications

References 46 publications

The political economy of digital profiteering: communication resource mobilization by anti-vaccination actors

The political economy of digital profiteering: communication resource mobilization by anti-vaccination actors

Digitalization in corporate communications: understanding the emergence and consequences of CommTech and digital infrastructure

Lobbying against compassion: a review of the ethics of persuasion when nonhuman animal suffering is involved

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