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How should a PR professional deal with disinformation? APRA introduced 7 principles

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Prague, 18. 5. 2021 – The Association of Public Relations (APRA) perceives an intensive spread of disinformation in the Czech society as a serious problem but also as a great challenge for PR professionals. At the Forum Media Light conference, APRA presented seven principles of how a PR professional should deal with disinformation. The principles represent the first comprehensive set of recommendations on this topic. The aim of APRA is to open a professional discussion through these recommendations.

 

14.03.2022 – Last year, APRA started to support an initiative called Nelež, which helps to eliminate banner advertising on disinformation websites. “This kind of advertising gives disinformation sites credibility, directly supports their operation and at the same time, also means a reputational risk for the advertiser,” says the chief of APRA, Patrik Schober. “We are glad that the Nelež initiative continues to grow and that there are more than a hundred companies today which have committed themselves to not advertise on these platforms. Many of them are also members of APRA. ”

However, concerns for the relationship between disciplines like PR and fake news are not just about advertising on disinformation websites. Brands can easily become the target of fake news, subsequently impacting them negatively. “It is necessary to be prepared for situations like this, to be able to react quickly and to effectively disprove disinformation,” says Michal Vlasák, a member of the APRA Executive Board.

An additional concern is that by expanding the influence of disinformation, the trust in traditional media is declining. “Strong traditional media and the ongoing democratic debate on them represents a fundamental context for the field of public relations. That is why it is essential for our profession to support and cooperate with such media which strives for factual discussion and quality journalism, “adds Michal Vlasák. According to APRA, PR professionals, as experts in the media scene, can also use their expertise, understand the problem well and explain it to the public. In this way, they can contribute to increasing media literacy, which is at a low level in the Czech population.

 

How should a PR professional deal with misinformation?

7 principles according to APRA:

  1. Be clear about what disinformation is; be sure about how to discover it and where it most often comes from.
  2. Use your media expertise and educate your surroundings about what disinformation is and what risks it could bring.
  3. Do not advertise on disinformation websites. This is a reputational risk for your organization and a support for the spread of disinformation. Support serious media, you need them for your work.
  4. Do not inform operators of disinformation media. Operators and editors of disinformation media are not the same partner for a PR professional as regular journalists.
  5. Get ready. Disinformation can endanger an organization’s reputation and is a significant source of crisis communication. Define procedures for crisis communication that arises from disinformation.
  6. Ignoring misinformation may not be the solution. In the situation of a reputation threat, carefully consider how to disprove the disinformation so that it is not strengthened.
  7. Find independent sources of objective information, verify the facts with them and, if necessary, involve them in communication. Use fact-checking platforms.

 

 

Patrik Schober

APRA Chairman

APRA – Asociace public relations, z. s. | Na Poříčí 12, 110 00 Praha 1

Tel.: +420 224 875 320, +420 775 351 034 | Email: info@apra.cz | www.apra.cz

ICCO Africa Group (IAG) meets in Kigali, Rwanda

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The first meeting of the ICCO Africa Group (IAG) took place on Monday 13th May 2019, ahead of the APRA Conference in Kigali, Rwanda.

The group comprised of representatives from national PR associations, institutes and societies across Africa with the purpose of discussing opportunities for collaboration, sharing of information, ideas and resources. The next aim to discuss how to share and promote the best creative, successful African PR campaigns, case studies and work to the rest of the world.

The group agreed the following actions and initiatives:

Professional Development

  • ICCO to work with IAG representatives in order to develop face to face training courses in hubs across the continent, starting with Lagos. This training will be developed from
  • ICCO courses in consultation with local representatives for relatable examples. Local associations and societies will manage the marketing of courses to secure maximum attendee levels and help reduce costs.
  • We will start with “Crisis Communications in a Digital World” and
    “Award winner Masterclass sessions”
  • ICCO to offer a discount to APRA members for online training and videos.

Research and Resources

  • ICCO to promote existing online resources to APRA members and members of other PR associations and institutes.
  • Research conducted in Africa to be promoted to the rest of the world through ICCO Library.
  • Research to be conducted jointly between PRCA, ICCO and African PR organisations in order to get larger data samples and produce more accurate results.

Raising the profile of African PR in the Rest of the World

  • ICCO to review costs for entering Global Awards will offer discounts for local award winners. The goal is making sure individual nations of Africa gain more recognition, distinct from the continent as a whole.
  • ICCO, with PRCA, APRA and IAG members, will create and promote courses and guides on “How to win global awards” using videos and guidance from SABRE Africa winners and Cannes Lions winners.
  • ICCO will offer special discount to APRA members to attend the ICCO Global Summit in Lisbon and procure speakers on topics beyond the analysis of the African Market.
    Raising profile of PR to leaders in Africa
  • ICCO will look to support and amplify the coverage of existing efforts by APRA to raise awareness of PR at events like the African CEO Forum and other non-PR specific events attended by politicians and leaders.
  • ICCO will amplify coverage and message of APRA relationship with African Union as a model of practical influencing.

Standards and Ethics

  • ICCO will target existing ICCO members from networked agencies like Edelman to drive the adoption of best practice standards across the group and affiliates, including use of self-assessment and business improvement tools like CMS. With long-term aim of these practices being adopted across markets locally.
  • The IAG members will engage their communities, agencies and consultants to take part on “#POWERofETHICS” in September. An online social media campaign to promote case studies of ethical PR and PRing ethics through blogs, guidance pieces and events e.g. interview with the award-winning Anti Child Abuse campaign from Ogilvy Ghana.
  • The ICCO Africa Group has agreed participants from Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda as well as associations APRA, PRISA (Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa) and PRCA MENA (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt) with more to come and all nations of Africa welcome. We plan to continue communication to achieve the above goals and meet again in May next year in Accra, Ghana ahead of the APRA 2020 conference.

Going forward this collaborative initiative will be run by Bridget Von Holdt, ICCO Africa President and Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, APRA President.

To find out more about the ICCO Africa Group, please contact Rob Morbin, ICCO General Manager, rob.morbin@iccopr.com