Two new podcasts with tips for public relations professionals on fighting disinformation – fake news – have been produced by Public Relations Boutiques International™ (PRBI), a global network of founder-led boutique PR firms.

The podcasts are part of a series on hot issues in public relations called “PRBI Insider.” They explain what fake news is and what it is not, how to avoid it, and how to manage it to prevent reputational damage. The podcasts provide specific advice for public relations practitioners on handling fake news about client organizations. They also include suggestions for new technologies that can help combat both disinformation and misinformation.

On the two podcasts, PRBI Insider host Joy Scott, MBA, president and CEO of Scott Public Relations in Los Angeles, interviews Amy Rotenberg Esq., founder and president of Washington, D.C.-based Rotenberg Associates, and Lucy Siegel, principal, Lucy Siegel LLC, in Provincetown, MA. Rotenberg is a First Amendment attorney as well as a PR agency owner, and both Scott and Siegel are past presidents of PRBI.

Says Scott, “Fake news is published with the intent to mislead people and damage the reputation or the finances of an individual or an organization. PR professionals must have the information on these podcasts about how to manage fake news.”

“One of the biggest dangers of fake news on social media is that mainstream media and thought leaders may pick it up and amplify it, causing it to go viral,” notes Rotenberg. “On these podcasts, we discuss ways that PR practitioners can stop this from happening.”

Siegel adds, “According to a survey in the US conducted in October 2020 by

The Harris Poll, only 62% of Americans know that a common purpose of disinformation is to divide people. The skimpy public knowledge about fake news makes it even more challenging to combat.”

The podcasts are available free on many platforms, including iHeartRadio and iTunes, and on the PR Boutiques International website. The PRBI Insider podcast series also includes discussions on selecting the right PR agency, getting the most from the agency relationship, and trends in the practice of public relations.

PRBI has also introduced a series of videos featuring interviews with principals of PRBI member firms by Tarunjeet Rattan, founder and managing partner of PRBI member Nucleus Public Relations in India. The video interviews, which cover a variety of public relations topics, are available on PRBI’s Facebook page.

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About PR Boutiques International

PRBI is an international network of boutique public relations firms. The principals of member firms are experienced practitioners who have held senior positions in large PR agencies and/or corporations, but now put services first and work directly with clients. PRBI member firms excel in meeting a huge range of client needs in a large number of industries, with services that include corporate public relations, consumer PR, health care PR, investor relations, crisis management, business-to-business PR, economic development PR, not-for-profit, academia, government, financial, technology, legal, multicultural and international PR. Member practitioners have won the highest levels of professional awards, and boast qualifications ranging from PhDs to former top journalists to attorneys. They also represent memberships in the most noteworthy international public relations and business associations. For more information, visit prboutiques.com