ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways in which truth claims are established and circulated within social media. It also considers the place of truth in public relations in terms of the requirements placed on practitioners by the various professional associations in Western democracies. The chapter deals with the standards of behavior to which the profession itself professes to adhere as well as the underlying rationale and context of these standards. The popular characterization of public relations as spin is sharply at odds with the profession's own codes of conduct or ethics, which tend to emphasize honesty, truth, and transparency. Legitimating ideas by establishing the truth of certain facts or perspectives arguably lies at the heart of effective public relations practice. The chapter also analyzes the three core dimensions of truth claims-transparency, power/knowledge and authenticity-in terms of the subtle and not-so-subtle changes for public relations practice associated with the advent of social media.
