Kim Leslie’s PR Blog

Ethical PR begins with transparency, trust, and honesty. The widespread use of social media has raised new questions about PR ethics, specifically disclosure. Some PR practitioners have engaged in astroturfing, or using social media (such as blogs) to create grassroots support for their client, product, etc. Countless examples include the Edleman/Walmart disaster, where Edleman employees created blogs or “flogs” called Working Families for Wal-Mart. These blogs promoted Wal-Mart and seemed to show grassroots support for the company. Once Edleman disclosed that their employees had created the blogs, the ethics of this practice were immediately questioned.

Edleman responded to the controversy with a plan to evaluate and improve its company and employee ethics. The company asked for feedback online, and created a plan for ensuring ethical behavior and transparency in the new social media industry. The Edleman/Walmart fiasco caused PR practitioners to reevaluate their ethical standards online. The cry for transparency and honesty increased, and bloggers called for the creation of a code of ethics specifically for blogging. In addition, the ethical issue of disclosure was, and continues to be debated. People called for the writers of the Walmart blogs to disclose their true identities. Normal people, not just those in the PR industry, wanted the Edleman employees to disclose their identities and uphold ethical standards.

My answer to “Do people care about disclosure?” Yes, they do. Should they be regulating practitioners on blogs and other forms of social media? Is it the public’s responsibility to insist on disclosure, transparency, trust, and honesty when astroturfing practitioners violate codes of ethics? These, and other ethics questions concerning PR will continue to be raised as the use of social media increases.