Public relations trade association comes out against “alternative facts”

The Public Relations Society of America takes rare political position. Under the headline, “PRSA Statement on ‘Alternative Facts,’” and undersigned by the Society’s 2017 Chair Jane Dvorak, Tuesday’s statement read in its entirety:

Truth is the foundation of all effective communications. By being truthful, we build and maintain trust with the media and our customers, clients and employees. As professional communicators, we take very seriously our responsibility to communicate with honesty and accuracy.
 
The Public Relations Society of America, the nation's largest communications association, sets the standard of ethical behavior for our 22,000 members through our Code of Ethics. Encouraging and perpetuating the use of alternative facts by a high-profile spokesperson reflects poorly on all communications professionals.
 
PRSA strongly objects to any effort to deliberately misrepresent information. Honest, ethical professionals never spin, mislead or alter facts. We applaud our colleagues and professional journalists who work hard to find and report the truth.

The statement got picked up by Politico, and Fortune, which ran it under the headline, “Even the Trade Group for PR Flacks Thinks ‘Alternative Facts’ Are a Bad Idea.” —DM