Dark PR – a self-defence manual

Cyberwarfare, pumped up by social media, is demanding, vile and overwhelming. Battle tactics are intricate, but here are some basic tactics to defend yourself.
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Did the Germans really bayonet Belgian babies? Public relations has been a strategic weapon for a long time, in which mere words and images can have catastrophic results. Away from the bullets, it has been refined by tobacco companies, political smearers and climate change denialists, and the same names and companies turn up in all these combat zones. 

But the rise of social media has allowed Satans’ little helpers to call on the Beast itself, with the rise and rise of Dark PR. Lawyer and crisis management advisor Prash Naik, speaking at the 2018 Australian International Documentary Conference, described Dark PR in these bleak words: it is ‘a more sophisticated form of negative public relations which manipulates social media and is designed to distort, deceive, disrupt and discredit.’ 

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David Tiley was the Editor of Screenhub from 2005 until he became Content Lead for Film in 2021 with a special interest in policy. He is a writer in screen media with a long career in educational programs, documentary, and government funding, with a side order in script editing. He values curiosity, humour and objectivity in support of Australian visions and the art of storytelling.