Research funding, conflicts of interest, and the meta-methodology of public relations.

Abstract

The power that science wields in modern society is a reflection of its ability to create knowledge that is as reliable as any product of human endeavor. Its very prestige, however, also makes it an attractive tool for public relations and marketing purposes. We are all familiar with the commercials announcing that laboratory tests prove or nine out of ten doctors agree that brand X is better than brand Y. Advertising, however, is only the most visible aspect of modern industry propaganda. Many similar endorsement strategies have been developed by the public relations industry, which prides itself on working invisibly behind the scenes to place self-serving messages for its clients in the mouths of seemingly independent third party experts. Within the PR industry, in fact, this strategy has come to be known as the third party technique. Merrill Rose, Executive Vice-President of the Porter/Novelli PR firm, explains the technique succinctly: Put your words in someone else's mouth. 1 Sometimes the technique is used to exaggerate the benefits of a product. Other times it is used to create doubt about a product's hazards, or about criticisms that have been made of a company's business practices. PR firms use a variety of quasi-scientific methodologies themselves, such as opinion polling, demographics, and psychology. At its core, however, public relations relies on assumptions that are antithetical to science. The ideological underpinning of the scientific endeavor is a belief that the truth is out there and that it can be grasped through rational human inquiry. Spin, however, is the art of arranging appearances, not substance. In this era of exploding media technologies, there is no truth except the truth you create for yourself, says Richard Edelman at Edelman Worldwide, one of the world's largest PR firms. 2 As advertising executive Jack Trout observes, Marketing is a battle of perception, not products. Truth has no bearing on the issue.