Thanks to the speed, immediacy, and easy nature of the
internet, social media has infiltrated many aspects of organizational practices.
Companies and their employees are now accessible to publics through social
media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. As a result, there is a
greater need for research and guidelines for organizations on social media. Public
relations practitioners have an obligation to follow ethical guidelines on
social media, just as they follow ethical guidelines in other forms of
communication with publics. In a crisis situation, ethical guidelines become
increasingly important, especially when working with affected publics.
In the aftermath of the recent
deadly terror attacks on Brussels, Belgium, public relations practitioner
Matthew Doyle tweeted a recap of an interaction he had with a Muslim woman: he
recounted, “I confronted a Muslim woman yesterday in Croydon. I asked her to
explain Brussels. She said ‘Nothing to do with me’. A mealy mouthed reply” (Lane,
2016, para. 4). The tweet received substantial criticism, especially when the public
determined that Doyle is a public relations practitioner.
Instead of apologizing for his
tweet, however, Doyle responded with a tweet that read, “Thanks all you
tweeters for proving I can still do PR. I really was thinking about throwing
the towel (head) in!” (Lane, 2016, para. 11). In addition, according to PR
Daily, Doyle started to make it look like the whole thing was just a “PR stunt;”
he also “boasted that his tweet had gone viral,” and was backed by his
organization, Grant Doyle Associates, in a very inappropriate comment on
Facebook (Lane, 2016, para. 16). Once the post went viral, Doyle was arrested
for “inciting racial hatred,” but was released and not charged (James, 2016,
para. 2).
In Bowen’s (2008) article, she
cites Ryan and Martinson (1983), who stated “a public relations officer who is
also a corporate conscience helps mold a corporation so that its goals and
actions are consistent with the public good” (Bowen, 2008, p. 277). Though
Doyle was not acting on behalf of any particular organization, he is affiliated
with a public relations firm, Grant Doyle Associates, and as a result, has an
obligation to follow ethical public relations practices. Because his tweets
were insensitive toward Muslim individuals, and subsequently went viral, Doyle
has now given himself a reputation as being insensitive and racist. In a globalized
communication field, this act is incredibly detrimental. If Doyle were to go on
to represent an organization, how could he be a corporate conscience for them
having tweeted such racist things, thus alienating a Muslim audience?
This case brings into question the
ethics that public relations practitioners need to follow on social media. Even
on a personal page, a person’s reputation as a good public relations
practitioner can be damaged by an insensitive, thoughtless post, such as Doyle’s.
Bowen (2013) notes, “Immediacy, fragmentation, and permanency all contribute to
the consequences of communicating in the digital realm,” (p. 121); she also
notes that “Both the speed of the communication and the fragmentation of
multiple receivers who may then re-communicate the message pose problems for
media ethicists” (p. 121-122). Thanks to the ease of Twitter, Doyle’s message
was re-tweeted many times and, though it was deleted, still managed to go
viral.
Watson (2014) states that the IPRA
Code of Athens, which includes guidelines for ethical public relations
practices, states that public relations practitioners have an obligation to “have
regard to the dignity of others” and “not take part in any activity affecting
human dignity” (p. 711). Bowen’s (2013) Ethical Guidelines for Using Social Media
also includes “maintain dignity and respect,” noting that the practitioner
should “ensure that the communication maintains the dignity and respect of the
involved publics” (p. 126). A quick scroll through Doyle’s Twitter page
(@MatthewDoyle31) does not show what one would think when looking for an
ethical public relations practitioner. The Twitter page is loaded with
inappropriate language and insults, and does not follow any ethical public
relations guidelines.
Overall, Doyle’s situation is an
example of what public relations practitioners should not do. His blatant racism,
inappropriate response, and overall demeanor on Twitter are not conducive to
good public relations ethics. He does not maintain dignity, either for himself
or for his publics, and just generally does not seem to care about his
reputation, as a public relations practitioner or otherwise. His inappropriate
tweets ended up having a global reach. This situation should open up a
conversation among public relations practitioners worldwide as to how
practitioners should conduct themselves on personal social media pages. Though
speech laws are different in different countries, there needs to be a standard
among public relations practitioners regarding social media ethics.
References
Bowen, S.A. (2008). A state of neglect: Public relations as
'corporate conscience' or ethics counsel. Journal
of Public Relations Research, 20,
271-296.
Bowen, S.A. (2013). Using Classic Social Media Cases to
Distill Ethical Guidelines for Digital Engagement. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 28, 119-133.
James, S.B. (2016). PR man Matthew Doyle will not sue Met
after arrest for 'explain Brussels' tweet.
Retrieved from http://www.prweek.com/article/1389420/pr-man-matthew-doyle-will-not-sue-met-arrest-explain-brussels-tweet
Lane, C. (2016). A
personal branding no-no: How one exec’s ‘PR skills’ landed him in jail.
Retrieved from http://www.prdaily.com/crisiscommunications/Articles/20422.aspx
Watson, T. (2014). IPRA Code of Athens – The first
international code of public relations ethics: Its development and
implementation since 1965. Public
Relations Review, 40, 707-714.
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