Blog #4 - Social Media and the Libel and Slander

Vera Brumley

Social Media Slander Blog #4

Blogspot.com/veraleann

            When the Internet came into such popularity, as fast as it did, people had to know that one day it would be a means for good and evil. As blogging and Facebook continuously rise in popularity, people are stumbling clumsily upon defamatory libel statements. Defamation is defined by the spoken, or written, words falsely reflecting a subject’s life and reputation. Many instances of libel and slander occur on the net, by those wishing to damage a persons’ reputation and hurt their chances of success.

            However, I believe that some people still don’t really understand that writing a negative statement in their blog could leave them with a liability case. In order to ‘set the record straight’ for the negatively influenced subject of the blog, the person responsible for writing or taping the statement will be prosecuted accordingly. A growing problem with these liability cases is that there has to be undeniable proof that the blogger actually made the post in a hurtful manner – the moment proof is shown, the case is much stronger and can achieve a solution to the presented issues.

            Nowadays, blogging has become a very common and popular way to share your ideas with the world. Online Blogs have even become somewhat of a trusted source for experience with products, services, and restaurants. Anyone can quickly create a blog and share with the world their thoughts and talents, however it sadly seems more popular to talk smack and spread rumors around. I would like to think this is only the case with younger kids, but my research has proven otherwise.

            I read about a woman who was fired from her job because of her active blogging life. Her blog, Dooce.com reflected her graphic design skills and artistry talents. She was very vocal about products and services – her coworkers were also very aware of her online blog site. After being fired, she didn’t fight it or attempt to threaten him for wrongful termination. She wrote more in her blog about it.

            As we talked about in class, it is worrisome to have such a personal blog online for the world to see. Especially, when employers find it very useful to keep tabs and research on potential or current employees. When an employee for a large firm blogs via company technological means, does the company stand to be liable for those words? Can they then rightfully terminate that employee? Yes, they can be liable – yes, they can fire them.

            After researching Heather Armstrong further, the writer of dooce.com, I found she was chosen as one of Forbes’ 30 Most Influential Women in Media. Her main contribution includes the idea that social media should be used as the strongest kind of Word-of-Mouth. She spoke mostly about incidents in which she was extremely dissatisfied with a product or service – so she tweeted about it. In the case of a certain product, they actually completely reinstalled a brand new product for her free of charge. Now, she encourages this for social media usage even though there are still possibilities for mean or slanderous statements. According to Heather Armstrong, the issues in our social media are not dealing with the freedom of speech amendment – they are, simply put, ‘a brave new world’.

            Social Media leaves a person very vulnerable to be slandered against or to commit, possibly unknowingly, libelous slander. I believe that the Internet is a great online tool that strengthens our opportunities and friendships. However, it is proving more and more each day to be used very negatively towards people. Is it just our nature to continuously increase negativity instead of the positive? Well, research shows that people are far more interested in tragic news as opposed to good news reports.

            According to some law officials, the issues of teenagers harassing and ‘bullying’ via social media sites like Facebook or Twitter have risen dramatically. Some kids have been slandered and harassed so much that they have become medically depressed or even committed suicide. What is so hard about these cases, they say, is that many things said about other kids are hard to prove and actually pin on a certain person. These are the cases that stand out to me when looking at slander and libel in our social media setting.

            We talked in class Monday about not being able to do anything on the Internet without someone finding you out (or tracing it back to you). In this day and age, there are so many ways to trace IP addresses and Internet actions. However, if we cannot prove actual malicious intent of a person, it does not matter what we can trace back to their IP web address.

            In any case, I still believe in the positivity of social media, mostly because I cannot survive without my Facebook and Twitter. But there are still too many positive things that come out of it. Can we really let a few bad apples ruin it for everyone? The Internet has become overrun with advertising and ways for companies to reach this digital world, but social media routes may not be the smartest route to take.

Sources:

1. Defamation And Slander On The Internet

By Nicholas Deleault

 (http://fairwindsweb.com/daycare.html)

2. Slander or Satire? When does social media cross legal lines? (http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/slander_or_satire_when_does_social_media_cross_legal_lines/)

3. Social Media Warning after teen is slandered

(http://www.walb.com/global/story.asp?s=13647975)            

Ethical Firm Choices according to my Ad Proffessional.

http://veraleann.blogspot.com/2011/11/ethical-firm-choices-according-to-my-ad.html

Blog #3

Vera Brumley

November 5, 2011

When it comes down to it, the world is going to throw a lot at you. So much so, that you might not be able to make perfectly ethical choices. In the advertising world, so many times you will find yourself not agreeing with your job description.

I am doing shadowing work for a firm in the DFW area, so I decided to ask my professional about any ethical dilemmas he may have ever encountered in an advertising manner.

At first, he was thrown off by my question, and he was confused at what exactly to respond with (or what he could respond with). He told me that more often than not, he felt more torn doing advertising for Denny’s and other such fattening restaurant foods. He felt especially worse, when majority of the ads particularly were targeted at over-weight people. As a healthier eater, and an American that is against the idea of ‘Obese America’. He told me he had continued his work for the campaign however, because the client had given specific instructions – after trying to vary away from the obvious target, the client was less-pleased with the work done.

Another experience he had in another firm, was working on a Tequila brand with higher alcohol content. At first, the advertising team’s work was very fair and good – however, they soon veered to targeting and appealing to college students. More specifically, they thought that using fraternity and sorority examples as ways to show the young, exciting brand name.

He felt this seemed unethical, mostly because they were trying to sell a high alcohol content product to a target market that is (more than likely) going to abuse the product in a harmful manner. I agree with this thought, and can understand the worry. However, at the same time this target market will abuse someone else’s product if it isn’t this one, right?

What I seemed to gather from the conversation with my professional, is that when it comes to advertising, there is a lot of time spent on ethical issues and dilemmas. What is worse, is that these dilemmas almost always are not black and white – they are the grayest of grays, and need special attention. So it makes the most sense that the truth should always be told. Many times, the reason people have such issues with advertisers is because they tell truths – but not all of them.

In the case of my professional, I feel as though he feels uneasier about selling people things that they don’t necessarily need. After a bit of research, I found that this is a problem many people feel the exact same way about. What I seem to have found, is that advertising is something that wrestles with the lines between ethical and right.

I can only imagine that my interviewee has been in some very uncomfortable situations throughout is newer career, and I am sure that he has stood on a very ethical ground while doing it. There are very scary places you can find yourself in ethically in the Advertising world, but knowing the responsibility you have to the consumers, there can’t be many that would completely dismiss this humanistic quality. My professional said that he has yet to work with someone who would completely dismiss these critically ethical rules. I hope when I find myself in the position to stand up to an unethical decision being made, that I do.

If there is a conclusion I have come to, after speaking with one of my professionals, it is that sometimes advertisers are asked by the client to advertise specifically to people – whether or not it would be good for that target. As harsh as it sounds, it comes down to the consumer to choose to go eat at Denny’s for a meal. Or if the alcohol commercials are aimed at college students, they know only above-the-age-limit adults can buy them.

Still, the original dilemmas can be questionable at the time they arise. I believe that a group of people working together to come to a solution that still pleases the selected client is the smartest way to avoid a terribly unethical ending.

Sources:

Ogilvy & Mather Article/Speech

http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/speaker_pres/data/3001

#UNTj4470 Modern vs. Classical Ethical Choice Theories

 

            In today’s world, we are constantly changing and working to increase sales and our incomes. This makes the ethical theories inside the hearts of our promotional bodies change just as often and in a more extreme way. The greed over just the past few decades has grown exponentially – and it is no longer just in the financial escapades of Wall Street.

            The main difference I see in the Classical Theories and our more Modern Theories is the cost issue. It drives the client or consumer to move on and find other agencies or representatives too quickly. The cost of making new ad campaigns and new PR events has grown exponentially. So, there needs to be more faith in the client and more precise work from the agent.

            Another issue I see very relevant to today’s world as compared to the decades of the past – the issue of international and cultural differences or respects. For many years, advertising and public relations campaigns didn’t need to transcend throughout the world and be accepted. In today’s world, with the rise of technology we are finding a need for international transcendence and favor.

From a deontological or a teleological standpoint, we find the two largest ethical factors. Deontology looks more into the morality of a person’s action inside them, and puts no weight in the consequence. Teleology will focus more on the moral act when the consequences present to be good or bad. So if ‘ends justify means’ to a teleological manner, we can say that breaking the law would be okay if there were positive consequences. All of these classical theories have a big driving factor to them. Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative is the supreme of the deontologist beliefs and one of the most popular theories is the utilitarianism one. Here, we try for the greatest good for the greatest numbers. The utilitarian will care much less for the act alone or those harmed in it as long as the greatest number of people can largely benefit from it. The last major theory, growing in popularity and contagion is egoism. This can either be applied to one single person or to a larger company of people. Individualism is just like it sounds – whatever is best for that one person no matter the consequence is the moral. In a universal way, people are selfish for a group of people in order to advance the group as a whole.

An egoist example very familiar to Americans is Chevron’s Oil company. Chevron has been accused of many environmental discrepancies and human rights abuses. The company has also been related with the idea of dumping billions of gallons of toxic waste in the Amazon of Ecuador. The oil service giant obviously has no PR person (or just a really bad one). In either case, the ethical dilemma is still hard to put into one box because of the international effects and cost issues. There is no doubt that dumping toxins is wrong however, what we could also take into account is why they chose that solution. Pure Egoism? Probably, considering the human rights abuse case that followed soon after the toxic dump.

The problem with some of these theories is that more often in today’s world, we are seeing situations that represent an exception to the rule of the theory. More often in the modern world, we see situations that cannot be judged solely by the consequence to one person or a single company. Now that there is a domino effect in today’s companies that will do harm or good to all different people, it is very hard to use a certain theory for the beneficial consequence of a specific person or group.

That is not to say that these theories do not show us a great amount about people and human natures. In every way, they do. Human natures and the survival instinct are something that will transcend time, even if they don’t solve a specific problem or dilemma.

Sources: Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/

Ethically Questionable in the Modern World

http://www.elearnportal.com/courses/business/business-communication/business-communication-ethics

Vera's Blog #2

#UNTj4470 Ethics in Buisness : Harder Than It Looks?

            In life, we can come across many complications or situations that threaten your character or moral standings. Ethics is very hard to define, and even harder to abide by completely in our personal affairs and events. In a business setting, however, most believe that ethics should become as ‘cut and dry’ as ethics can be. One definition I found to be extremely helpful is from The Business Dictionary, stating that ethics is “the basic concepts and fundamental principles of right human conduct.”

            The definition sounds quite simple and yet I am still astounded by the amount of mistakes made by professionals in the workplace. Of course, it is hard for me to judge these people completely because I don’t know what the situation entailed entirely. So it isn’t surprising that it is still somewhat difficult to explain an unethical situation to some businessmen. They may not see the action or movement as unethical or immoral. Rather, they may see it as a step forward in income and in ranking. For example, if you write an ethically risky story and defend its purpose as for your personal financial gain and power – it will become very clear to all that your ethical skills need a bit of tweaking.

Sometimes, the case seems to be simpler to outside viewers – like that of American Apparel’s CEO Dov Charney. He owns over half of the brand and clothing line and is the head of the company’s board. This man is obviously at the highest rank, and has come very far in successful standings, however, a few years ago (and again recently) he was accused and sued for sexual harassment against two much younger women (half his age – 18 vs. 40’s). These women also claimed the stress of a very hostile working environment with the overly sexual Charney. Immediately, I was on the side of the girls and assumed it was a cut and dry easy choice, but Charney negated these girls’ accusations by saying that the relations were consensual.  Charney also grew up with a strong feeling of sexual freedom and believes that it is our right (in the first amendment) to pursue those to whom we are attracted.

Still, it seems unethical in my eyes to create a hostile working environment through a relationship-based affliction. In my opinion, you don’t mix work and play. In some cases, it is more important than others. But in an environment where sex is out and about so outlandishly – you need to be smarter about your relationship choices.

Some ethical business dilemmas are far better known, like that of which we do not name (Enron). It seems more and more in today’s world, we are seeing corporations make incredibly stupid decisions in search of wealth, fame and power. HBO did a wonderful made-for-TV movie called Too Big To Fail that was filled with great actors and told a blow-by-blow story of a mortgage company’s mistakes and unethical decisions of other firms. It was far too believable, mostly because the world today has become so corrupt – more and more people think it’s okay because everyone else is doing it.

Considering the rise in ethical mishaps in companies and firms, it makes total sense that the subject of ethics would grow in importance to schools and hiring agents. Throughout my college career and through all of my professors, I seem to have retained that all ethical issues in a business can be a very close call. However, no matter the details and specifics of the dilemma PR or Ad Firms can always rely on the truth. Absolute honesty can only help you when you are stuck in a pickle.

Sources:

“Ethics Definition: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/ethics.html”

“American Apparel Story Info: http://business-ethics.com/2011/03/15/0852-american-apparel-and-the-ethics-of-a-sexually-charged-workplace/”

Tough Guise Video

Since we didn't really get to discuss the 'Tough Guise' Video, I felt I needed to get some things off my chest concerning it. It was very strange to see these opinions but at the same time I wasn't surprised by the conclusions that were drawn. Perhaps it is our day and age that has changed the ways boys and men act and consider themselves successful/attractive. It surely does explain the growing violent crimes and domestic violence in the home, but Jackson Kats is right when he says this will be harder than we think to fix.
It is also a problem for our world that we can't just allow people to be themselves, and so we make fun of them in order make them 'fit inside this tiny box' of what we 'expect them to be'. So does this mean all men are supposed to act like Bruce Willis in Die Hard (or any other of his blockbuster hits...)? Are Bruce Willis or Liam Neeson the only real men out there?
Of course not, but I believe (as I think I have said too much in my previous blog posts) that the movies make people think too much about what they do and say. Men believe, perhaps, that in order to 'get the girl in the end' or 'get the most respect from people' that they have to be tough, violent, and strong.
I'm not saying that movies are the only reason...
Mr. Kats brings up girls roles in how men see themselves, and yes, too many girls validate this 'tough guy image'. We need to learn and change our ways also, and try to look deeper than the muscles and brooding. We also need to remember that more often than not, when we go after those 'tough guys' we are almost always disappointed with how much they don't respect us.
So this truly is an issue in our world - and as we can see via crime reports, it is only getting worse (for men and women). This video was very inspirational and even though I had moved past 'falling for the bad boys' years ago ... I will remember this video for the future and for my girlfriends that could find themselves in the same predicament.

Women's Portrayal in Advertising

Jean Kilgore's movie was very inspirational and informational. It really communicated the idea that women are being taken advantage of and objectified into a very clear and concise manner. It was clear even to the men in the room that there was an issue for the women, I think when the men noticed it really struck a cord with me.
When I consider that I am going into the business of advertising, I wonder how being a woman will affect what I do and how others work with me? And I also wonder when something is created or an idea is put out there, that really degrades women and puts them down - will I be able to stand up against the person's idea?
In a fast paced world like advertising, it seems like you either run with it or you get left behind. Maybe that is why so much of the advertising is the way it is now... it has been done so quickly and with a smaller group that no one was around to say, "this is kind of sexist". Still, there are some beautiful parts to advertising and those parts drove me to want to get involved in it... hopefully I will find myself in the midst of that firm / that movement.
What is sad to me mostly about the video we saw in class... is the fact that, most likely this kind of advertising and sex-driven work isn't going anywhere. At least not anytime soon, so are we just supposed to adapt and bear it? Most people are, and I personally can see the changes in the younger generations. The reliance on technology and make-up .. the idea that not having a girlfriend at the age of 7 is the end of the world.
I wasn't anything like the kids are nowadays... and I don't know how much worse it is going to get. It is scary to even contemplate it.

Rap Videos and Hip-Hop Histories

I was very very engaged by the music videos we saw in class, and completely in awe of the histories of all of the artists and rappers of the past. It is interesting to me that many of the past artists had some many negative relations between their producers and signers.
I liked the input from you, about being really careful with who you trust in any job offers you take. Many people aren't careful enough, and can be taken advantage of financially or worse. It was interesting to see the differences in the videos over time and in different areas of the country.
Like I said in class, the video we first saw about 'self destruction' was done in a very New York manner... the surroundings and PSA-type execution. And the video called "We are all in the same gang", was made in a very Los Angeles manner... the way the video was shot looked almost like a movie or a more current video (from today).
Also, those videos were very inspirational.