Statement

Thomas E. Eppes, APR, Fellow PRSAChair, PRSA Board of Ethics and Professional StandardsPublic Relations Society of AmericaJune 14, 2010

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is committed to the ethicalpractice of public relations. In fact, ethical practice is the most importantobligation of a PRSA member, each of whom pledges to the industry-standardPRSA Code of Ethics. As PRSA members and ethical public relationspractitioners, we encourage every reputable business and practitioner to joinPRSA in categorically condemning and disavowing strategies in conflict with our Code – and those who practice them.The Code is maintained by the PRSA Board of Ethics and ProfessionalStandards (BEPS), which also develops Professional Standards Advisories(PSA) addressing specific practice challenges. While BEPS has not investigatedthe specific issue of disingenuous book reviews, it has addressed the larger concept of disingenuous online content in PSA PS-8. In addition to this PSA, wealso can point to several sections of the Code that would apply to situations likethe Amazon.com book reviews described in the Cincinnati Beacon.Recommend best practice communicated in PS-8 is:

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The use of deceptive identities or misleading descriptions of goals,causes, tactics, sponsors or participants to further the objectives of anygroup constitutes improper conduct under the PRSA Member Code of Ethics and should be avoided.

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PRSA members should not engage in or encourage the practice of misrepresenting organizations and individuals through the use of blogs,viral marketing, social media and/or anonymous Internet posting.Among the most important values noted in that Code are:

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We serve the public interest by acting as responsible advocates for thosewe represent. The behavior described does not serve the public interestsand is not responsible advocacy.

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We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancingthe interests of those we represent and in communicating with the public.The placement of fake reviews does not meet any standard of accuracyand truth.These activities also run afoul of key Code principles, including:

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Protecting and advancing the free flow of accurate and truthful informationis essential to serving the public interest and contributing to informeddecision making in a democratic society. We must preserve the integrity of