PR in times of War - where is the truth?

In the first class of Contemporary Theory and Issues in Public Relations, we watched the BBC documentary “War Spin” that reveals some of the PR strategies the US and UK governments used during the Iraq War in 2003. It is unlikely to change that any country that goes to war will give out only certain information to justify its action and maintain a positive image among the public.

Although it is one of the tasks in PR to keep, save or establish an image of an organisation, a company, a government or a single person, it is questionable where the moral boundaries in such critical situations like war lie. In the case of the Iraq war only selected bits and pieces of information were given out to the public by the US government. Most of the information were misleading and leaving the public with a complete wrong impression of the overall situation and a wrong image of the United States.

Most probably any government during times of war will always use war spin. However if we can’t trust our governments in cases of such difficult situations, who can the public rely on? It is important for PR to be kept in mind that the public has a right to information and the media have the duty to inform. What is needed is a strict moral standard for PR practitioners they have to be obliged to.

Here is a part of the BBC documentary footage that revealed the PR strategies used by the US government during the Iraq War in 2003. 

References: Jowett, G. and O'Donnell, V., (2006). Propaganda and Persuasion. 4th ed. Sage Publications Inc.