Conservative Party “FactCheckUK” stunt ‘misleading the public’
The Conservative Party last night rebranded their @CCHQPress Twitter account “factcheckUK” during the televised leaders’ debate featuring Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, prompting Twitter to say that they were breaching its terms of service and “misleading the public”.
The CIPR’s Code of Conduct requires our members to deal honestly and fairly with the public, which is a basic professional standard. This sort of action damages trust, not only in the organisation which carries it out, but potentially in the election itself. Any CIPR members involved in this kind of misleading behaviour face potential disciplinary action under our Code of Conduct. It was extremely disappointing to see the Chairman of the Conservative Party, the Rt. Hon. James Cleverly MP defending it on television after the debate. I have written to Mr Cleverly today to make this point.
About the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
Founded in 1948, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is the Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners in the UK and overseas. The CIPR is by far the biggest member organisation for PR practitioners outside of North America. By size of turnover and number of individually registered members, we are the leading representative body for the PR profession and industry in Europe.
The CIPR advances professionalism in public relations by making its members accountable to their employers and the public through a code of conduct and searchable public register, setting standards through training, qualifications, awards and the production of best practice and skills guidance, facilitating Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and awarding Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status (Chart.PR).