Holmes Report founder and CEO Paul Holmes joins the Echo Chamber to discuss the future of public relations in the so-called 'post-truth era'. Recent political campaigns — notably Brexit and Trump — have demonstrated that people are willing to suspend their disbelief when it comes to facts, particularly when it comes to more emotive issues. Indeed, as behavioural research demonstrates, presenting people with conflicting facts can serve to reinforce their views, rather than dispelling them, as the field of climate change science often shows us.
Holmes and Arun Sudhaman explore what this means for public relations practitioners that are charged with communicating on behalf of their clients.
Show notes
Post-truth politics are killing democracies on both sides of the Atlantic
PR Grand Prix: 'This Is Work We Should Repudiate, Not Celebrate'
PR in the post-truth era
Why facts don't matter to Trump's supporters
Things still matter