PR, not Propaganda

PR, Not Propaganda - Web 2.0 Expo

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I've been thinking about the Web 2.0 Expo NY Web2Open. My topic is PR, not Propaganda, on November 19. Although the format will be unconference, I wanted to get you thinking about the differences - and please do stop by to meet me and the team who will be leading those conversations presented by the PodCamp Foundation.

PR, not Propaganda

What does it mean, what are the differences? Let's start with a working definition from Wikipedia:

Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.

We're talking about genuine two-way communication, not just dissemination; information, not indoctrination; attention-getting, not agitprop; proof, not the truth (truth is a conclusion the other person gets to make). And so on.

PR *does* bear some elements of propaganda, however. Manipulation, for example. Be honest: PR people are looking for a given outcome. That's why you were hired. So you have to look at the other elements of propaganda and avoid them - coercion, selective presentation of the facts, insistence on only ONE conclusion, broadcasting, or outright falsehood. There are probably more.

Then ask:

• Is what I'm saying true?
• Have I presented my client or product in a fair manner?
• Am I still listening?
• Have I made my affiliations or motivations clear?
• Am I prepared to accept the conclusions of my potential customer?

Are you? Weigh in!

© 2006-2009 Valeria Maltoni. All rights reserved.

Comments

[Sarah Dawley]

Wow, great post/topic Valeria...

I think the biggest difference between PR and propaganda is ethics. All of those questions that you posed revolve around what should be a central force in PR: being ethical, transparent and honest.

I don't like using the word manipulation when it comes to PR. I'd rather say we are exercising persuasion. Manipulation carries with it an undertone of deceit, whereas persuasion is simply making a good argument and convincing people to see things your way. No ulterior motives, just powerful messaging.

Thanks for this!

[Len Kendall]

There is a scale. On one end you have good organizations that make money from selling products/services that people desire. On the other you have organizations that provide products/services that some people desire but don't always want (or shouldn't use because of it being harmful to them).

Here's the reality. There are a lot of orgs on both ends. The ones that skew to the "good" are farther away from Propaganda because they can be. The other end of the axis will continue to resemble "the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist" because that is the only way their business can operate. Reality: There's a lot of money involved in the latter and it won't go away based on anything we (the PR industry) does.

The only way I can imagine for PR as a whole to shift away from a propaganda-esk mentality is for the organizations they support to shift their design, motivations, and business models. I don't think this is a PR issue. PR is a service that exaggerates the "good" or "bad" of the company they are standing in front of.

[Matthew Ray Scott]

Valeria,

I spent years as an Army Psychological Warfare Specialist leading a propaganda development team.

Great & insightful post.

Are you sure we did not serve together in the Army? :))))

[Richie Escovedo]

Valeria - I think that manipulation in PR is more related to guiding the conversation much in the way a skillful debater has prepared thoughts for various viewpoints. We should be prepared for a variety of conclusions by our communities, but not coerce the conversation. I agree with Len in that it's not a PR issue. I think it is an organizational culture issue being directed by questionable leadership and business practices.

btw, the slidedeck is awesome - great visuals! Thanks for sharing.

- @vedo

[Chris Baskind]

I think it's a narrow view that states PR is about stressing the "good" aspects a client or product. PR firms are, at their root, a proxy between the client and some other party. People don't run around with the sole motivation of saying good things about themselves, so neither should PR.

Take a theoretical situation where a party has been genuinely slandered, and hires a PR company to set the record straight. It's not a good/bad thing -- it's about truth.

The cynic in me would like to agree that life is always selling something. But it's not true, and the technology is so atomizing marketplaces that they increasingly behave like real life, rather than kabuki theatre. In real life, we speak, we interact, and we're social. PR people who can't genuinely operate this way with be genuinely unhappy with the result.

Nice piece. Really has me thinking.

[Dave]

The catch is that the relationships that separate PR from propaganda are between customers and decision-makers; the communicators are just an intermediary.

If there isn't a system in place where the communicators bring valid customer questions to the decision-makers and get either an explanation or an authentic "we're going to look closer at that and move things around", then all the communicators can do is propagandize. There's no PR, because there's no relationship.

And yes, that does mean that many communicators have been doomed to propaganda by the organizations they work for.

[Shannon Palmer]

What a terrific topic! I'd say the role of PR doesn't necessarily involve manipulation anymore, but has transformed to be a participatory initiative that "guides" the conversation. Though I admit the propaganda focused attitude is still hard to shake some companies from who lean on an extremist view of their brand and message. People don't respond to that anymore.

Your questions are dead on for what people should be asking themselves, and your presentation looks incredible with all the contrasting propaganda posters. Good luck at the conference!

[Rich Becker]

Valeria,

I could not agree more. When I teach, this is the first part of defining public relations, with an emphasis on the prospect of strengthening relationships.

Public relations is the art and science of developing and managing immediate and long-term measurable programs that strengthen relationships between the organization and various publics ...

Propaganda is much more in line with advertising, but not necessarily the intent of the communication.

All my best,
Rich

[Peter]

"We're talking about genuine two-way communication, not just dissemination; information, not indoctrination; attention-getting, not agitprop; proof, not the truth (truth is a conclusion the other person gets to make). And so on."

I see this as the what to do. The question for many is why.

Personally, I think you are alluding to is a third way - neither PR or propaganda.

Common to PR and Propaganda is the idea of controlling the message to align with some desired future.

The third way (for want of a better expression) dismisses the idea of a desired future and allows for the future to self organize around an authentic message. This is a key strategy in a complex environment where you don't control the variables.

The third way is about a fidelity of message that is not contaminated/compromised by desire to achieve some end (PR /Propaganda). - What happens is the only thing that could happen.

I see your recommended behaviors and questions as bringing mindfulness to your motivations and checking the damage that desire can do to your future.

Though PR and Propaganda are far easier to practice than the third way.

Have fun on the 19th.

Peter

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Sarah - well, I knew the term manipulation would get the conversation going. Good departure with ethics. Thank you so much for jumping off Twitter to the comment box. This is an excellent contribution.

@Len - really solid thinking here. I'm liking how you look at scale as in degrees of or ends of the spectrum. PR and communications are a reflection of the business, and indeed it is the business itself that needs to have the authentic message.

@Matthew Ray - if memory serves me right, we didn't serve together in the Army. As a Liberal Arts major who grew up in Europe, I learned my fair share of history about propaganda.

@Richie - given that we're touching upon organizational culture here, my post tomorrow will expand on it. Glad you liked the slides. Took a bit of looking and pulling together ;)

@Chris - "the technology is so atomizing marketplaces that they increasingly behave like real life" is a powerful insight. Yes, be social, be genuine.

@Dave - what you describe is even more pronounced in highly political environments like academia and non profits where accountability is second to status/power.

@Shannon - participation and guidance or counsel sound good. Many companies are also lost, still catching up on and believing their own propaganda ;) Thank you for the well wishes on the dialogue at Web2Open.

@Rich - when I was researching the topic, I found that PR was born as propaganda. It evolved or positioned out of it shortly afterward. Interesting to find out anyway.

@Peter - fidelity of message not compromised by desire to achieve sounds like a higher state of being to me, not just for the PR conversation, but for human interaction. It does start with mindfulness. So glad this post caught your eye. Directionally, many in the comments were headed this way...

[Rich Becker]

Valeria,

You're right, of course. PR was born as propaganda (with an advertising assist). Even more interesting is 'that' type of PR seems to have been born out of a reaction to 'objective' journalism.

Prior to propaganda, it wasn't called propaganda. It was yellow journalism with the same affect.

My question has been, more often than not, what happens when we lose objective journalism this time around (if we haven't already). Then, unless public relations evolves, we end up where we started about 100 years ago or so, with PR taking on the role of yellow publishers with citizens as amplifiers.

Thank you for being one of those content to pursue the truth.

Best,
Rich