SINGAPORE, 14th September, 2021 – The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) Ethics Council highly commends journalism by The Wall Street Journal this week, in exposing what its technology reporter Jeff Horowitz documented as “a secret elite that’s exempt” from Facebook’s “standards of behavior,” in which “Facebook has misled the public and its own Oversight Board, a body that Facebook created to ensure the accountability of the company’s enforcement systems.”

This #PRethics Month, the PRCA Ethics Council urges stronger accountability against unfair, undisclosed and egregiously flawed information-gatekeeping practices, particularly by operators of global social media companies that double as de facto news channels for billions of people worldwide.

The PRCA Professional Charter calls upon the industry to exercise “proper regard to the public interest” in all professional activities as well as “a positive duty at all times to respect the truth and…not disseminate false or misleading information knowingly or recklessly, and to use proper care to avoid doing so inadvertently.”

PRCA Director General Francis Ingham MPRCA said:
“For more than a decade, and alongside other key social media platforms, Facebook has assumed nothing short of ‘public-utility’ status as a source of information for citizens across the globe.

“Today’s report in The Wall Street Journal lays bare disturbing revelations that the entirety of the public relations and communications industry must consider, in how we engage and make use of these platforms for institutional and client communications and relationship-building efforts.

“When a platform of Facebook’s prominence is revealed not only to be a regular disseminator of unmitigated disinformation but also a culprit of systemic rule-breaking of its own compliance standards – alongside egregious non-disclosures and non-transparency – then we in public relations should take notice and factor these realities into how our clients and employers are counselled.

“The global public relations industry must foster trust with all stakeholders, predicated on truthful, accurate information, as well as a standard of care that our messages and modes of communication are honourable and accountable.”

-ENDS-

WHO WE ARE

The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) is the world’s largest professional PR body.

We represent more than 35,000 PR professionals in 70 countries worldwide. With offices in London, Singapore, Dubai, and Buenos Aires, we are a global advocate for excellence in public relations.

Our mission is to create a more professional, ethical, and prosperous PR industry. We champion – and enforce – professional standards in the UK and overseas through our Professional Charter and Code of Conduct. The Code compels members to adhere to the highest standards of ethical practice.

We deliver exceptional training, authoritative industry data, and global networking and development opportunities. We also manage the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO), the umbrella body for 41 PR associations and 3,000 agencies across the world, and LG Comms – the UK’s national body for authorities raising standards of local government communication.