The CIPR and PRCA are calling on journalists to verify the legitimacy of comms professionals and the experts they offer up for comment by checking to see if they belong to either trade body.
CIPR chief executive Alastair McCapra and PRCA chief executive Sarah Waddington have penned a joint letter to the National Union of Journalists, Chartered Institute of Journalists, British Association of Journalists, and Press Gazette, in response to concerns around fake experts.
McCapra said: “A strong relationship between the media and the PR profession depends on trust, transparency, integrity, and accountability. The deliberate use of fake experts is unacceptable and undermines confidence in legitimate and ethical PR practice.”
He added that the CIPR register and PRCA directory “exist to support journalists by providing a simple way to verify who they are dealing with and our codes of conduct make clear that misleading the media has serious consequences.”
Waddington commented that “journalists and PR professionals share a common interest in accurate, credible reporting” and working together “can help reduce the risk of misinformation and support high standards for everyone”.
This comes amid mounting concern over the scale at which fake experts, whether they be people without proper credentials or entirely fictitious, are appearing in the media.
Earlier this month the Press Gazette published a report titled ‘PR Hall of Shame: Dubious experts and linked brands’. It revealed “more than 50 apparently fake experts who have offered commentary to the British press in recent years and featured more than 1,000 times in newspapers, magazines and online titles”.
The letter, sent on Monday, stated: “Promoting accurate, ethical, and transparent engagement - including with the press - is central to our respective missions.”
It added: “We each maintain publicly accessible directories of accredited and verified practitioners. We encourage journalists to use these resources to check whether a PR professional is a current member in good standing, should any concerns arise.”
Membership of either trade body “signals a commitment to high professional and ethical standards, including adherence to established codes of conduct,” the letter stated.
“Our directories provide an additional safeguard for media professionals seeking to verify the legitimacy of a PR representative.” In addition, they “offer access to a complaints process where issues warrant further scrutiny”.
The letter concluded: “We welcome constructive dialogue with media organisations on how we can collectively strengthen transparency, accountability, and trust between the PR profession and the press.”