Ethics and social media: observing PRSA’s Code of Ethics

Author: Teresa Roof, APR

The Public Relations Society of America recently released an ethical standards advisory on the topic of social media. As issues related to the practice of communications, the PRSA Board of Ethics and Professional Standards provides guidance within the framework of the Code of Ethics. And what better time to do that than Ethics Month!

Social media is an effective communication tool for many communications professionals, though the speed, frequency and open accessibility of social media has introduced new challenges for public relations professionals, intensifying the level of professional ethical responsibility. From the challenges of the 24/7 news cycle to combating misinformation, public relations professionals must ensure information entering social media is fully compliant with PRSA’s Code of Ethics.

Relevant Sections of the PRSA Code:

Code Provisions

1. Disclosure of Information: Open communication, or disclosure, fosters informed decision making in a democratic society especially within the fast-paced and ever-evolving social media platforms. For example, content providers should fully disclose paid placements and all associations with a product to support informed opinions and rational decision making.
2. Safeguarding Confidences: Client trust requires appropriate protection of confidential and private information, especially as it pertains to social media.
3. Conflicts of Interest: Avoiding real, potential or perceived conflicts of interest builds the trust of clients, employers and the publics. For example, if working with social media influencers and providing product samples, require proper disclosures (per FTC guidelines) are made. If gifts are given, ensure they are nominal, legal and infrequent.
4. Free Flow of Information: To maintain the integrity of relationships with stakeholders, professionals must ensure consumers can readily discern between sponsored content, news reporting and editorial content.
5. Enhancing the Profession: Public relations professionals build respect and credibility with the public with author transparency related to social media content.

Professional Values

1. Honesty: We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent and in communicating with the public.
2. Advocacy: We serve the public interest by acting as responsible advocates for our clients/companies. We best support the marketplace of ideas, facts, and viewpoints, and aid informed public debate and stakeholder decision making when authors or sponsors are fully disclosed and transparent.
3. Fairness: We support free expression and deal fairly with our clients, competitors, peers, the media, and the general public when we fully disclose authors and sponsors of content and relationships to content to ensure transparency in social media activities.
   
   

Examples of improper social media practices:

Disclosure

• Unreported/unidentified endorsements and the failure to clearly identify the source or sponsorship of paid content, whether monetary, in-kind compensation or via free products. In 2019 the FTC updated its guidelines to include social media.
• Anonymity by blending sponsored content into editorial, news, or entertainment content or not revealing an association to obscure the identification of the paid, in-kind transactional relationship, competitor status or opinion-based content. While the practice is not illegal, it flies in the face of the spirit of social media and risks losing consumer trust.
• Front groups or astroturfing to obscure an association to an event, group or topic.

Safeguarding Confidences

• Prematurely posting a public company relationship prior to notifying stakeholders.
• During acquisitions, conducting key employee searches on social media, potentially alerting others prematurely of an acquisition.
• Posting private employee information via social media channels.

Conflicts of Interest

• A physician doesn’t disclose ties to drug companies and provides biased advice through social media.
• A CEO comments on social media about a particular industry’s issue but doesn’t disclose he or she is CEO and/or on the board of a company in that industry.
• Posting about a client on social media without disclosing your relationship.

Free Flow of Information

• A blogger receives gifts such as paid travel expenses to write a post but does not disclose that information in the post or on the website.
• Improper reporting of social media statistics (e.g., readership, page views, click-throughs).
• Digital Ad Fraud – not having systems in place to report actual views.

Enhancing the profession

• Using online education to focus on products/services instead of strategies and tactics.
• Failure to keep abreast of new platforms, applications and publishing methodologies that are being adopted by various publics.

To learn more about recommended best practices and to read the entire Ethical Standards Advisory, log in to MyPRSA and click Ethics in Communication.

And don’t forget to check out all the FREE ethics programming during the month of September!