Will the trust hold? #EthicsMatter in communications – now more than ever
We are closing the Global Alliance #EthicsMonth February 2022, today with extreme sadness caused by the geopolitical situation and Russia’s attack on Ukraine on February 24.
Currently, our communications channels are filled with stories of war. In an extreme situation like this, it is vital to rely on the facts and the reports shared by established journalistic medias and authorities. It is obvious that this war is not only based on military action – it is very much a war using communications – disinformation – fake news, cyber-attacks, and troll operations to achieve its targets.
This tragedy has undermined the trust in a peaceful Europe – and it is accelerating the demands for ethics in communications and PR globally, based on the core values - truth, respect for human life, freedom, democracy, and sovereignty.
Thank you to all of you communications professionals and researchers across the world, who made the Ethics Month in February 2022 happen! We had the participation of thousands of public relations and communication professionals joining from Peru to Finland, Canada to Kenya, New Zealand to Germany.
Your contribution on local, regional and global level has enabled us to educate and highlight the ethical aspects of communications and PR in these days. It has helped to open up the differences and similarities across our countries during the Covid-19 pandemic and related news reporting in media, it has highlighted the advantages and possible pitfalls when implementing new technologies like artificial intelligence in communications and PR, and discussed the ethics in social media and much more.
Please continue consuming this content, continue sharing it with your colleagues and local members. With help of the learnings from Ethics Month, I trust that we have better capabilities for conducting ethical communications going forward and stay true to our professional mission – building trust across our stakeholders. You can find the link to the articles and videos produced to Global Ethics Month here: https://www.globalalliancepr.org/global-alliance-ethics-month
Thank you for your contribution.
Sincerely,
Kia Haring
Director, Ethics & Standards
Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management