The world hasn’t ended, but it’s certainly different.
Did you check the news this morning and think, 'Oh good, the world hasn't ended'? Me too.
We're living in a time when a world leader - a crass, possibly unhinged man lacking in empathy who revels in breaking any taboo he can find - keeps a good percentage of the world awake at night with things like threatening the death of an entire civilisation, or suddenly bringing in sweeping tariffs on his own allies. And we know about it. Instantly. Without filters.
He's backed down, if the threat was ever real, but the effects have still been immense. People's home moves have fallen through. Oil prices and the prices of everything else have fluctuated with his every word. And more importantly, he's squashed the bar of what can be got away with, what's acceptable in a leader, a little further into the floor. Not long ago he was planning to sully adorn the presidential library with an immense gold statue of himself. Last week he was charmingly responding to the deaths of two pilots in a crash with, ‘They made a mistake. It’s a dangerous business’. This week his own party are wondering if they should take away the codes.
The same environment is making misinformation a more powerful tool than ever before: if you can shock, if you can get attention, if you can promise something that feels simple in an uncertain world, you can claim power.
Like most people who work in it, I've sometimes had mixed feelings about the PR and communications industry, but stuff like this really does demonstrate why good, responsible, ethical comms are important. Without it, the other stuff dominates our society's discourse, creating uncertainty and division. The thing is, it's shocking, and therefore newsworthy, so it spreads fast and lands emotionally. Responsible comms struggle to do that, especially the traditional formal press release which goes through several time-consuming rounds of signoff and often ends up as dry as a mouthful of flour.
I can't say how our information systems will evolve. I hope we'll reach a point where decency is central to world politics (and more people are equipped with the media literacy to render disinformation less effective). Until that happens, this is what responsible organisations should be doing.
👐 Be real and honest. If your organisation makes a mistake, say so. If you need people to know something, talk to them in terms they understand and care about. All the time. Because if you're vague or seem distant or evasive on the less important things, people won't believe you when it counts.
📈 Don't expect facts to have any impact on their own. You need to tell a story. Emotion wins over information, even if it's not true: combine both, and you can reach people. If you’re in comms, have the confidence to push for this.
🦁 Be brave enough to name the issue. Are you dealing with misinformation? Bad actors? Hate? It can sometimes help to say so, in everyday terms: 'This isn't right.' 'Someone has spread a lie'. ‘Some things you read online may seem convincing, but they’re made up by people with a vested interest in making you believe them.’
🔢 Once isn't enough. Communicate over multiple channels, frequently, in different ways. One press release and a social post with a link won't do it.
🗄️ Don't expect your 12-month comms strategy to proceed uninterrupted. Write and plan everything in the knowledge that the world can change suddenly and dramatically. Sometimes, a comms plan should be more an agreed approach than a set of actions and deadlines. Wherever possible, hire good communicators and then trust them to do their job in an agile, swift, consistent way with signoff only when really needed.
That isn’t everything, but it’s a start. The world may become more certain again in the future. That’s more likely to happen if responsible communicators in every organisation do their bit to help steady the keel.
Entangled Creative helps councils, charities, places and community organisations communicate clearly, confidently and with local character, especially when the conversation feels complex or emotive.