Public Relations Crisis Communication and Mistakes

Public Relations - Handling Rumors, Lies and Propaganda

Most press releases don't get used. The same thing is true of op-eds, posts on Facebook and tweets on Twitter. This is because people tend to treat Facebook and Twitter -- along with press releases and op-eds -- as a one-way street. The best communication isn't one-way. It's not a monologue, a lecture or a self-centered diary of your daily...

In a case that seems more fitting for the middle of a mud-slinging presidential primary, Facebook just got caught using a hired PR firm to plant unflattering stories about Google. Is this really a PR no-no? What should Facebook have done instead? And now that Facebook got caught, what should they do? Ethics in PR really aren't that hard. You...

When you're running for president -- or doing a national bus tour while teasing the press that you might run for president -- everything you say is fair game. Especially whatever you say in front of a TV camera. So when Sarah Palin was asked about Paul Revere and gave a mangled summary of his ride, it made the news. Gaffes happen to every public...

When professional athletes, politicians or rock stars self-destruct, people naturally pay attention to the celebrity train wreck. Charlie Sheen's fiery wreckage certainly caught our attention. He did things different -- he didn't go into hiding or rehab. He took control of his own publicity and media appearance. He created internet memes at...

For a fast-food chain, the news should have been devastating: two California law firms joining forces to file a class-action lawsuit claiming that the beef Taco Bell served customers was mostly things other than beef. Then Taco Bell did the unexpected. It didn't hunker down. It didn't get defensive. It went on the offense with an advertising and...

We may be witnessing the first revolution that started out with a Twitter hashtag: #jan25. If it succeeds, it will be in no small part due to a public relations failure by Hosni Mubarak, ruler of Egypt since 1981. Organizers used Twitter and other social media to start protests on January 25, despite the fact that such protests are not allowed...

How did President Obama, other national figures and Sarah Palin respond to the shootings in Arizona? It's easy for public figures to get wrapped up in defending themselves and attacking the other side, especially when emotions run high. But in cases of national tragedy, and national tragedies such as this, you have to focus on the victims, the...

Scandals involving public figures usually revolve around two things: money or sex. The worst ones, however, are really about something else entirely: secrecy, betrayal and hypocrisy. The cover-up is worse than the crime. Arnold Schwarzenegger hid the fact that he fathered a child with a maid who worked for his family for 20 years. This scandal...

How does a random photo on Twitter become fodder for scandal that might bring down a member of Congress -- a man who many expected to be the next mayor of New York City? There are key differences between the kinds of mistakes that get forgiven by the press and public and the kind that don't. The two key questions are these: First, can you see...