How PR ethics in Asia compare with other regions

Amazon is suing over a thousand people offering bogus reviews on Fiverr.com for USD 5. Employees at Bell Canada are discovered ramping its apps without disclosing their affiliation.

Researchers reckon at least 20% of reviews on Yelp are fake. An often cited report by Bing Liu at the University of Illinois estimates 30% of online reviews are not what they appear.

Public relations ethics — for want of a better description — are cause for concern across the world. 

How do they compare in Asia?

As noted in a recent PR Week article on PR ethics in Asia in which I am quoted, much depends on the local context, particularly consumer expectations, the regulatory environment and industry codes, the relative maturity of the PR and marketing industry, and the willingness (and sometimes naivety) of the mainstream and other media to keep its face clean.

Widespread ‘Black PR’ in China is sometimes cited as evidence that the problem is endemic in the region.

It is fair to say that the brutally competitive nature of business in the Middle Kingdom, in which the opportunity to undermine detractors/the competition through fair means or foul is often pursued with relish, combined with widespread anon- and pseudonymity, pressure to buy advertising for better coverage, and all manner of other nasties, help make it a particularly tricky place to do business.

In my experience, China is an outlier.

Despite a reputation for cosy political relationships and a pliant mainstream media in many parts of the region, and evidence of devious online practices, there’s little to indicate that shady PR is any more widespread and entrenched across Asia than, say, in Latin America or parts of Europe.