Ethics and Freedom of Speech

Ethics and Freedom of Speech
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Ethics and Freedom of Speech
Making ethical decisions is the desire of every public relations expert, as ethics forms an integral part of the profession. Public relations maneuvers and skills are scrutinized based on ethics. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), arguable the most prominent society dealing with public relations, has set some values for public relations experts that ensure their undertakings are ethical: advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty, and fairness (PRSA, n.d.). These core values are the building blocks for the core code of conduct set by the PRSA. The principles that form the core code of conduct include free flow of information, competition, disclosure of information, safeguarding confidences, conflict of interests, and enhancing the profession (PRSA, n.d.). The decision to influence the public for them to get on board with an idea or influence their perception of a particular product should always be assessed based on the guiding principles provided by the PRSA.
The case scenario where Edward L. Barneys crafted a cigarette campaigning with the prints “Torches of Freedom” (Wilcox et al., 2013) can be interpreted from different perspectives of ethics. From one point of view, the campaign can be viewed as a way to protest against gender equality while fostering freedom for all. On the other side, the campaign is against the accepted norms of that time, where women were not allowed to smoke cigarettes, which makes it unethical. On the other hand, the case for PR role in the e-cigarette company distinctively violates the ethical principles and the required code of conduct to provide all the necessary information for the custome...