ABSTRACT
The material in this chapter overlaps with that in Chapter 9 on mass communication and media, as well as with Chapter 12 on Internet and social media. In this area, the impact of web-based communication sites such as Twitter and Facebook has been profound over the last few years. The discussion of the ethical issues of political communication begins with a review of the practices of modern political communication, including those that seem ethically questionable. The chapter then turns to some specific ethical issues arising from the growing importance of political consultants, lobbyists, and the use of the Internet. Because the theories of John Rawls and Jürgen Habermas, along with utilitarianism, seem particularly relevant to issues of political communication, they will each provide a lens for viewing and thinking about these issues.
