Fake news has always been around, but the digital age has greatly increased its impact. From fake news sites to unqualified sources of fake stories, all of these fraudulent activities are a serious threat to the Public Relations (PR) industry.

If it is vital for PR firms to ethically persuade the target audience towards their clients, then safeguarding the trust of the public and the media so that they are not eroded by fake news becomes a part of their duty as well. Public relations professionals must understand that their profession will survive only when good journalism thrives. For this reason, public relations experts need to be more critical of this issue and hold them more accountable to tackle this problem of fake news with the utmost seriousness and dedication than ever before.

And here are the various ways you can do it:

Bring the real news forward: Public relations professionals and experts must realize that there is much more to ensuring a box office success. The first priority of any PR agency should be to deliver real news that in turn provides real value to journalists and readers alike. Professionals working in public relations firms must take much more responsibility for the spokespersons and the stories they are contributing to. The more authentic the story, the more likely it is to get mass coverage, and the relationships in the media industry become much healthier and safer.

Use the real and authentic fonts: It is true that a mention in the success story will gain a lot of exposure for the brand, but using the news hijacking tool as an excuse to offer unqualified spokespersons is unethical. Clearly, do it in your mind, that it is the deep experience and knowledge of the industry in particular that could broaden the scope of knowledge to the public. This is the only way to make the most of media opportunities and create a win-win situation for both public relations and journalism.

Use contacts only to do good: Anyone who works in the public relations industry is familiar with the fact that fake news has more power to spread easily. They spread easily, but when the falsehood is revealed, it hampers the reputation and image of the industry as a whole. Therefore, being a dedicated PR professional in the industry, it becomes a necessity to dismantle it as soon as possible. Public relations professionals should not wait for others to bring change, they should discourage fake news among their media contacts and help ensure that journalism is free of unnecessary clutter and trash.