PR votes to carry on lying

I’ve recently been writing and blogging on the Insanity of Marketing. But can there be a more insane branch of marketing than PR?

Martin Moore’s blog directs us to a debate held at Westminster University, the motion of which was that “PR has a duty to tell the truth.” I don’t know whether to laugh at the fact that the motion was defeated, or at the fact they had to debate the issue at all. Can anyone suggest another profession that would hold such a debate?

The majority view amongst PR is that their duty of care is towards their clients, and that this sometimes (often?) conflicts with the truth. In these cases, it seems permissible to lie.

The trouble I have with this admission is not that PR has to wrestle with conflicts of interest and ethics. It is that, once you know a PR firm lies, how can you ever tell if it’s telling the truth? And if the majority of the industry admits to the practice, doesn’t this undermine the whole industry?

As it happens, I know many PR professionals, and professional they are. I’m sure they’ll be dismayed by the results of the vote, and hopefully of the debate itself.

I think that PR has shot itself in the foot. It could do with appointing a PR firm to limit the damage, lie a little, and put PR in a positive spin.