Lies and Liabilities

                       Photo from Adobe Stock by user Pcess609.

P.R. representatives have a unique role in society: creating positive images for their clients, whether real or not. In many instances, they must skirt around and dissolve conflict or poor rumors affecting their clients.

Hope Hicks, one of Trump's White House communications directors, admitted lies were a big part of her daily job. In fact, in an interview with the New York Times, she said: "that her work for President Trump…had occasionally required her to tell white lies." Of course, when it comes to protecting the reputation of someone, many people would initially think to make things up for a better story. However, all communications professionals should hold a high standard and maintain a good relationship with both the public and their clients. 

Unfortunately, according to an article in P.R. Week, the reputation of P.R. people might need a facelift themselves. "Nine in ten (92 percent) people polled claim P.R. is primarily used to deceive the public, while an identical proportion claim that P.R. professionals' bend the truth'." When the public begins to lose trust in the P.R. world, our news and information become harder to believe.

In writing to the editor of the L.A. Times, PRSA Chief Anthony D'Angelo wrote: "lying to the media is traditionally called P.R.' is inaccurate and insulting to the more than 21,000 members [of PRSA] who pledge to uphold a detailed Code of Ethics." The Code of Ethics that D'Angelo referred to contains values and conducts with detailed descriptions and examples. With its extreme specificity, it isn't easy to lose sight of the main goal in the job.

Gerard F Corbett of The Guardian also denies the allegations of P.R. firms crawling with lies. "Where we have witnessed unethical practices, PRSA has spoken out vigorously against those actions. We use those unfortunate incidents as teachable moments for our members and the profession, helping them learn from their peers' defects and, in turn, improve the ethical pillars that undergird the profession." 

With the general public hurling mass distrust toward the media due to Trump's coined term "fake news," it is disappointing to see someone who worked directly for him maintain this narrative that communication professionals are meant to lie. One can only hope that the reputation will be restored in the coming years so that professionals can safely and adequately do the job they have worked so diligently to uphold the honor of.