See also: Big Boys | Communication
Shortform: PR
A term describing an organization’s connections with the public, its efforts to change public opinion, to create a trusting relationship or someone assigned to improve public perceptions of the organization. Bad publicity can come from knowledge of immoral, unethical, unfair or unjust behaviour on the part of the organization or individual. This can quickly ruin a good reputation.
Public relations experts are employed by most savvy politicians, Big Boys, government, etc. People or groups within governments wanting to improve public relations can use censorship to hide the truth.
One common goal of PR is to secure favourable coverage in the mass media. Paying attention to presentation, so that people can identify with them in a positive way, is a popular strategy.
Examples of public relations are any commercial you have ever seen that does not seem to sell a product but, instead, purport the benevolent actions of a corporate entity. Recent examples include Microsoft, Clear Channel, South Western Bell, Exxon, and more. Often public relations efforts are often propaganda with half-truths, lies or with emotionally evocative imagery. They are designed to change the perception that corporations are motivated by primarily by money, run by people, and therefore sometimes do immoral and unethical things.
Public Relations are harmful to Information Anarchy because, while we can make up our own minds, a misinformed public will make poor decisions, harming all of us. To some extent, Public Relations is social engineering on a much larger scale.
Related Topics
Related Links
TakeDown.NET -> “Public-relations”