Fake News and Communications: How PRs Can React to Media Trust Issues and the Rise of Fake News

In a year of global change, fake news rose to the top of the political and media agenda in 2016 as both potential US presidents and political pundits worried about its impact and influence.

For communicators and journalists however, it shone a spotlight on news itself and how news was being reported, produced and distributed and highlighted the challenge in ensuring the public – and other members of the media – were able to identify the real news and dismiss falsehoods.

In this white paper, we look at the communications challenge presented by fake news and how it is affecting trust across the media landscape. We explore what this means for communicators, what they think and what journalists from CNBC, BBC and Buzzfeed think about the issue.

In addition, using exclusive survey data, we show how important this issue is in the eyes of the UK public and what the implications are for brands, communicators and PRs.