PR 'threat to democracy'

The manipulation of public opinion through sophisticated public relations techniques poses a threat to New Zealand democracy, Wellington investigative journalist Nicky Hager warns.

Mr Hager gave a keynote lecture, titled "Imagining a world where the PR people had won", at the Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand conference at the University of Otago.

Public relations methods had long been used to influence public opinion, but in recent years there had been "a really huge and important change" which now posed "a threat to democracy", he said in an interview.

Since the success of popular environmental and other protest movements in the 1970s, the number of public relations people had greatly multiplied and the techniques used had become more advanced and effective.

There had been "a huge shift in power", enabling public opinion to be influenced by corporate interests, often covertly, on a host of issues, including environmental matters.

"The science of it has become much more systematic," he warned.

A study by overseas university researchers had noted that New Zealand's decision to drop a proposed carbon tax in 2005 had been influenced by indirect lobbying by coal industry interests, he said.

The funders and initiators of public relations campaigns were often deliberately concealed, preventing the public from understanding the underlying motivation.

The apparently unrelated release of various reports and the arrival of touring overseas experts often seemed unrelated events, but in some cases were actually part of covert campaigns, he said.

Mr Hager is the author of several books, including The Hollow Men and Corngate.

About 150 people were attending the sociology conference, which ended yesterday.

 

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