Ethics Around the World: IABC Regional Members Weigh In

As a communicator, what are some of the ethical concerns that keep you up at night? Do you ever wonder what your fellow IABC members around the world are up against? How can we pave a path forward for the next generation?  

The Catalyst editorial team was asking these questions and wanted to tap into the power of IABC’s Regions. What follows are insights from members around the world who responded to our request. They offer insight into where we stand as a profession, what’s happening on the ground and an outlook for the future.

When it comes to ethical practice and communication in today’s landscape, what are among your top challenges or concerns?

Opeyemi Adeyemi (Africa): My top concerns about ethical practice and communication in today’s landscape — based on the rapid changes in technology, society and culture that affect how we interact, share information and make decisions — would be the ethical use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality, inclusivity and diversity, misinformation and disinformation.

Overcoming these challenges requires establishing ethical guidelines for the utilization of these new technologies, actively seeking out diverse voices in communication initiatives to promote inclusivity and cultivating transparency in our communication to ensure accuracy and credibility.

Ben Harrison (Canada West): As a communicator, my top ethical challenge is balancing the messages our clients want to communicate with the messages they should communicate. Too often, clients are so concerned (if not scared) of audience reaction that they fail to be transparent. In doing so, they set themselves up for longer-term risk. As a communicator, I always stress the value of openness and transparency; it’s what the audience welcomes. In an age of scrutiny, sweeping facts and honesty under the rug will come back to haunt you when someone dares to peek underneath.

Jeanean Merkel (Canada West): Our clients are committed to transparent, truthful and timely communications, and we are committed to communicating accurate, understandable and direct information on their behalf. Increasing skepticism of organizations and governments, however, means we must work harder and continually adapt messages to break through a sense of uncertainty about the future. Ours is a good news story, but we need to redouble our efforts to make it personal and persuasive to successfully communicate that to our members.

Ross Monaghan (Asia/Pacific): Professional communicators need to challenge the perception that disregarding ethics is good for business. Using alternative facts, for example, may relieve pain for a few hours or days, but when lies are exposed, problems are multiplied.

The truth might be ugly, but it’s still the truth.

Research suggests the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, so when organizations are caught misleading the public, they face a long, difficult and expensive road when it comes to repairing their reputation. Acting ethically is always good for business in the long term.

Camilla Osborne (Africa): I work in the public health space and the biggest challenge I face is the issue around mis and disinformation. Ethically, it is immoral to propagate inaccurate information, but there is a fine line between inaccuracy and someone's beliefs — which links to freedom of speech. There is a very thin tightrope to balance the fostering of free speech, whilst at the same time minimizing misinformation and disinformation.

Additionally, the world of deepfakes as we've recently seen has created a parallel universe that is real for many people. Using online tools to listen and identify mis/disinformation has been critical in my role. However, countering that information is difficult, as it becomes a lived reality for the people who believe it. There is a need for more independent platforms to identify and label fake or misleading information. We cannot rely solely on the owners of platforms like Meta to do this. 

Malar Ramalingam (Asia/Pacific): C.Y.A. (Cover Your Ar**) and “Passing the Buck.” These leadership challenges, if unchecked, often lead to demotivated staff, lower service quality delivery and, worst, breed similar leadership styles! I have found handling these by having private, confidential conversations with heads concerned to find common ground and proposing solutions that, if followed, paint them in a reasonably good light. “Saving face” is important in my neck of the woods.

Monique Zytnik (Europe/Middle East/North Africa [EMENA]): As with communicators globally, the ethics of image manipulation and AI generated content is challenging. Questions that arise include: to what extent does an image need to be manipulated or content AI generated before it must be disclosed? What are the legal consequences for spreading misinformation or creating deepfakes? 

The European Commission is still finalizing the Artificial Intelligence Act that would introduce a common regulatory and legal framework for AI. It takes a risk, rather than harm-based approach. This also has implications for communicators in compliance as risk is more challenging to communicate than a more tangible harm-based model (with actual examples of harm occurring). 

What do you want the next generation of communicators to know about ethical practice in our profession? What do communicators do particularly well in this arena?

Opeyemi Adeyemi (Africa): I would want the next generation of communicators to know that ethics is essential to our profession, just like communication is at the core of relationship management. Ethical practice isn't just a professional obligation, it's a moral imperative. Therefore, we must uphold stakeholder trust by ensuring our communication is accurate and credible. We must carefully consider the potential consequences of our communication efforts and strive to minimize harm while maximizing positive outcomes. Our mantra must be “upholding integrity in all interactions” — whether it's crafting messaging, engaging with stakeholders or navigating challenging situations.

Deanna Biros (Heritage): Ethical practice starts with each of us as individuals being conscious of the personal values, morals and biases that influence our own choices and actions, then being vigilant about adhering to them. In a 24/7 world that seems to move faster and faster, it’s important to slow down, resist shortcuts and think from different perspectives. When we understand the importance of ethics as a cornerstone for business, we can assist our organizations in building ethical cultures.

Ben Harrison (Canada West): I want communicators to act in the best interests of their clients not by being order takers or cheerleaders, but by being full-bodied communicators: critical-thinking, logical, unafraid to ask tough questions or give difficult suggestions. Only by embracing these most challenging and unique parts of our skill sets, and shaping these facets into well-crafted communications, can we earn that seat at the table, the respect of our clients and colleagues, and, ultimately be able to fully embrace the ethics that audiences demand.

Jeanean Merkel (Canada West): Despite challenges presented by misinformation and dishonest use of AI, becoming proficient at understanding your audience and crafting messages that will speak to them are timeless skills.

Ross Monaghan (Asia/Pacific): As an educator, I point out to students that doing the right thing should be the first consideration when dealing with an issue. Many business communication principles are based on interpersonal communication, so drawing analogies for my undergraduate students often results in light bulb moments.

I ask students, “What happens to a personal relationship if you catch someone regularly cheating or lying?” Then I draw a parallel to organizational reputations.

Warren Buffett is credited with saying “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Organizational reputations are incredibly valuable. Open, honest and transparent communication is an investment in an organization’s future.

Camilla Osborne (Africa): Ethics are the moral principles that govern our behavior. The newest generation (Gen Alpha) spends half their time, if not more, online. This parallel universe online is already starting to create its own set of principles and behaviors that would not be acceptable in the real world. Ensuring that the next generation — beyond communication professionals — knows the difference between online and reality will be key.

Embedding a moral obligation for this generation to integrate real-world ethics into the online world must start now. Communication professionals should be at the forefront of establishing these rules and regulations for the tech industry. We are custodians of imparting and exchanging information and we have a moral obligation to do no harm in what information is imparted and how it is exchanged. 

Malar Ramalingam (Asia/Pacific): Trust is key in our line of work, as well as empathy. Mistakes are part and parcel of life, especially when we’re going for stretch goals or in the line of direct fire. Some mistakes are simply errors in judgment, due to a myriad of reasons. Best to find out before calling for a public lynching or practicing the sadly growing cancel culture.

What communicators do well is to find out those root causes and analyze them before presenting facts and a case (solutions) in a palatable, timely way to relevant stakeholders.

What I would appreciate for the next generation — who are incredibly smart, capable and fast with devices and tech — is to see the importance of cultivating personal relationships and resolving conflicts privately, in person whenever possible. We are still human BEings, not DOings. When slashed, we all bleed red. See that commonality. When stakes are high, you will discover a bit of kindness and understanding goes a long way in getting cooperation. And it's a lot easier if you’re trusted.

Monique Zytnik (Europe/Middle East/North Africa [EMENA]): Research has recently come out in Europe in relation to the value that public relations and communications has for society, rather than just focusing on the impact. This is an interesting consideration as it ties our actions as communicators to societal improvement and value, rather than just connecting our actions to the interests of one's organization (societal impact-focused).

Communication at scale is powerful. With power comes great responsibility. When we align this with worthy goals, integrity and our elegant stakeholder management skills, we can achieve great things for the greater good.

When swamped with confusion, conflicting interests and a focus on quick wins, we can just as easily drag everything around us into a pit of mistrust, from which it is hard to clamber out of. The ethical compass of organizations such as the IABC is there to help guide us to what could be possible.  

A special thanks to all who contributed to this regional roundup. Learn more about the IABC Code of Ethics and how it aligns to our organization’s purpose.

Interested in contributing to a future article? Reach out to catalyst@iabc.com