October 15, 2018

By Christopher M. Cox, Christopher Newport University

When considering ways to identify and discourage the spread of fake news online, the conversation inevitably turns toward the role of social media algorithms, bots and other automated technologies that obscure the distinctions between verifiable journalism and questionable information.

As we see with the ongoing dilemma of fake news on Facebook,… More

July 27, 2018

American philosopher John Dewey said a person learns as much from failure as he or she does from success. For corporate communicators, two of the lowest points in U.S. financial history provide real-world lessons on how to maintain ethical communications through crisis.

Years ago, Yan Jin, professor at the University of Georgia, and Shelley Spector, founder of the… More

July 24, 2018

By Erica Ciszek, University of Texas at Austin

June has come and gone*. The rainbow flags and streamers have been packed in storage for next year. But what about the remaining 11 months of the year?

While the Supreme Court of the United States legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman, noted,… More

July 4, 2018

By Karen Freberg, University of Louisville, and Carolyn Kim, Biola University

Social media and public relations go hand-in-hand in many circumstances, but nothing is as strong as the connection it has to organizational public relations (OPR). The ways individuals can engage in dialogue and conversation with brands today are limitless, but for customer inquiries and service options, we mostly… More

June 26, 2018

By Jami Fullerton, Oklahoma State University; Alice Kendrick, Southern Methodist University; and Lori Melton McKinnon, Oklahoma State University

Without doubt, we live in a world where information—accurate or not—spreads rapidly. The spread of misinformation is nothing new. However, a convergence of factors in today’s digital society has resulted in a range of challenges involving the origin, dissemination, veracity… More

June 19, 2018

By Toby Hopp, University of Colorado at Boulder

History is full of examples of cynical actors using weaponized false information (or “disinformation”) to achieve political, social and economic ends. So, in a sense, there’s nothing really new about fake news.

And yet, there exists widespread concern about the society-shaping potential of fake news. These anxieties… More