Category: Reputation
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The Ethics of PR: Lessons from the Blake Lively Smear Campaign
Astroturfing, smear campaigns, and social media manipulation — ethically dubious tactics that not only overshadow the valuable work of PR professionals but also erode public trust and challenge the very integrity of our industry. This could describe the controversy surrounding…
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Public Relations is at the Crossroads of Measurement and Standards
In the landscape of public relations, two critical issues continue to challenge our profession: the persistent use of Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) as a measurement metric, and the ongoing debate about licensing PR practitioners. These seemingly disparate topics are, in…
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When Ethics and Values Became Mere Words at the Post Office
The Post Office Horizon IT scandal, widely regarded as one of the gravest injustices in British legal history, exposed a profound crisis of ethics at the heart of a trusted institution. The scandal, which ruined the lives of over 700…
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Just How Risky are Fake LinkedIn Profiles and What Can You Do About It?
In 2022, the business social network LinkedIn removed over 80 million fake profiles, according to data from Allure Security, a firm that offers online brand protection-as-a-service and handles such takedowns every day. If that sounds a lot (it is!), then…
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The hate speech problem on X: a test of conscience for users and brands
I’ve often wondered what event would happen, or what tipping point would be reached, for people to abandon ship on X formerly known as Twitter. Since being acquired by Elon Musk in October 2022, the social network’s decline that has…