By David Bauder, writing for the Associated Press… A media frenzy was born on Feb. 27, when the hashtag #WhereIsKate exploded online with speculation about the whereabouts of Britain’s Princess of Wales. It opened a rabbit hole of amateur detective work, memes, bizarre theories and jokes — mixed with genuine concern about Kate’s health — […]
From our colleague, Tom Weidlich, at PRCG | Haggerty… One of the biggest crises currently rocking the sports world — the gambling scandal swirling around Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani — raises all sorts of tawdry communications issues with all sorts of important communications lessons. Not the least of those lessons arises from a […]
Simon Reynolds at Cision writes… We live in a fast-moving media landscape, where rumors and misinformation can surface and spread quickly across social media channels. This, coupled with consumers being more skeptical than ever, means brands face challenges in maintaining their reputation and managing public perception. PR and communications teams know that they must play a […]
From Sara Ödmarka at the Department of Communication, Quality Management and Information Systems, Mid Sweden University,Sundsvall, Sweden and Jonas Nicola at the Center for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium “When I asked people ‘Are you journalists?’ they would say no. But if I asked them ‘Is what is what you do journalistic?’ they say […]
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a non-profit journalism school and research organization in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school is the owner of the Tampa Bay Times newspaper and the International Fact-Checking Network. It also operates PolitiFact. In journalism circles, Poynter is considered to be a trusted source. So when Poynter publishes a headline like this it’s a […]
By Rowan Philip for NiemanLab In October 2023, an AI-synthesized impersonation of the voice of an opposition leader helped swing the election in Slovakia to a pro-Russia candidate. Another AI audio fake was layered onto a real video clip of a candidate in Pakistan, supposedly calling on voters to boycott the general election in February 2024. Ahead of […]
By Rehan Mirza, The Journalist’s Resource Last month, a robocall impersonating U.S. President Joe Biden went out to New Hampshire voters, advising them not to vote in the state’s presidential primary election. The voice, generated by artificial intelligence, sounded quite real. “Save your vote for the November election,” the voice stated, falsely asserting that a vote in […]
By Gillian Janicki and Logan Trautman for PRNews In the dynamic world of marketing and brand promotion, the traditional approach to influencer partnerships is evolving. Conventional influencer relations strategy involves identifying and collaborating with influencers deeply rooted in a particular niche, such as food, travel or fashion. However, an alternative approach is emerging—one that involves […]
It’s Time to Curtail “Horse Race” Coverage of Elections: What You Can Do Introduction by Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications Dear Valued Readers, In our continuous effort to enrich your understanding of the ever-evolving landscape of crisis communications, we bring to your attention a significant piece published by the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School and the Shorenstein […]
From our friend and colleague in Australia, Tony Jaques… Who should speak in a crisis? That deceptively simple question can help determine whether an organisation’s reputation is enhanced or irreparably damaged when things go wrong. And behind that question are two common errors in crisis management. The first error is the idea that “speaking with one voice” […]