The consequences of misinformation: How the New York Times worked with an activist group to mislead the nation “Let’s give ‘em something to talk about.” – Bonnie Raitt In 2002 a relatively unknown study about consumer perceptions of food safety was published (1). In it, three researchers discovered a startling point: Given the choice between information delivered by [...]
July 18, 2009
I’ve heard PR people take issue with organizational objectives simply because it violated a personal belief. When that is the case, the PR person should find another job; conversely, if I were the CEO of an organization where a PR person had difficulty with the organization’s mission and suggested policy changes, I would be tempted [...]
June 10, 2009
There’s an inherent danger in promoting research studies that are not yet peer reviewed. Foremost is that many people, reporters in particular, probably do not fully understand what peer-review technically means. This being the case, Ohio State University recently had to go on the offensive against an avalanche of misinformation reported about a study the [...]
April 16, 2009
Recognizing What Triggers Environmental Misinformation [This was published originally in the April 2009 issse of PRSA's TACTICS newsletter.] Environmental concerns are driven by good intentions and, often, a sense of urgency. There is a reason for this. Climate change indexes, regarded by scientists as credible indicators of global environmental health, are painting an unflattering portrait of our [...]
April 2, 2009
A manifesto for credibility The emergence of the Information Age has given most everyone access to an unlimited wealth of knowledge. More recently, as social online media have flourished, there is an even greater rate of participation. With that, curiously, has been a trend to claim expertise. Tim Ferriss’ book, The Four Hour Work Week (which I recommend with [...]
December 18, 2009
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