By Jennifer Hahn, writing for PR News… Public health wise, 2025 is off to a rough start. Current data shows that H5N1 Bird flu has spread from millions of birds to nearly 1,000 cows and 69 humans. Newly-minted United States Health and Human Services Director and outspoken vaccine skeptic, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., used his first week in office […]
By Lindsey Bradshaw writing for PR News… Did you know social media actually dates back to the 1970s? Long before the web, the PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations) computer system pioneered online communities with message boards, email, chat rooms and games, laying the foundation for today’s social platforms. It was followed by Bulletin Board Systems, […]
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications It’s a simple fact: Controversies today are tried in the Court of Public Opinion more often than the Court of Law. News now breaks first on social media, with traditional media sweeping Twitter/X, Facebook and YouTube for leads. Whether your organization is immersed in crisis or dealing with a hot-button […]
By Seth Chalmers, writing for The Stanford Social Innovation Review… “Should we put out a statement?” If you’re a nonprofit communications professional, you’ve heard that question many times, often the day after some major news event. Since the October 7 massacres in Israel and subsequent war in Gaza, many nonprofits have struggled to decide whether […]
From The Pew Research Center… Digital sources have become an important part of Americans’ news diets – with social media playing a crucial role, particularly for younger adults. Overall, just over half of U.S. adults (54%) say they at least sometimes get news from social media, up slightly compared with the last few years. News consumption on […]
In this post-election climate, the expectations placed upon corporations, as well as healthcare, education and social service organizations, are more complex than ever. Navigating societal issues, especially hot-button topics like gender, climate and racial discrimination, is no longer optional—it’s an expectation. This responsibility grows exponentially with the reelection of Donald Trump, as organizations may face […]
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications UPDATE: The piece below was written a few days before Election Day. We hope you agree it’s still worth a read. However, the polls are now closed, Election Day is behind us, most of the results appear to be uncontested, the U.S. Senate will soon be in the hands of […]
By Colleen McClain for Pew Research Center TikTok has been so popular among young Americans that presidential campaigns are using it for voter outreach. And some young adults are using TikTok to keep up with politics or get news, a Pew Research Center survey shows. TikTok has been so popular among young Americans that presidential campaigns are using it for voter outreach. […]
From The Conversation… In the immediate hours after the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, social media users posted the same videos, images and eyewitness accounts but used them as evidence for different rumors or theories that aligned with their political preferences. Among the deluge of rumors, one TikTok creator narrated […]
From The New York Times… A story can entertain and inform; it can also deceive and manipulate. Perhaps few stories are as seductive as the ones we tell ourselves about ourselves — those reasonable, principled creatures so many of us presume ourselves to be. As Annalee Newitz writes in “Stories Are Weapons,” propaganda is premised […]