New words to describe PR practice
Have you noticed the new trend? People who want to disparage the communications industry (either on the PR or the Journalism side of the house) have taken to sourcing words from the dictionary to describe their disdain. (See my earlier article about coprophilia).
Agnotology
The newest addition to the lexicon of abuse is “Agnotology“ which described as ‘the study of the deliberate production of ignorance or doubt’.
In a recent article in The Wired World, Jennifer Jacquet from NYU used this word to describe the behaviour of the PR industry in relation to environmental issues like fossil fuels.
Creating doubt
I know that PR is a much-maligned industry, but this particular choice of word fascinated me.
I understand the creation of doubt – isn’t this what lawyers do in courtrooms when they are trying to influence a jury? And it is also what PR practitioners do when they are lobbying.
Creating ignorance
The deliberate creation of ignorance, however, is something I cannot figure out. I can only assume that this ignorance is created by wilfully spreading lies. Anyone deliberately lying has no place in the public relations industry.
We are all familiar with the general demise in inquisitiveness of people who consume the media, the paucity of fact-checking and the growth of fake news. We should call out lies every time we see them. We don’t need new words to do that. We should work to the KISS rule – Keep It Simple Stupid!
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Notes:
Jennifer Jacquet is an associate professor at the Dept of Environmental Studies in NYU. Her article “Trust in Science” was published in The Wired World in 2023 magazine.