Spin
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This article is part of the Propaganda Portal project of Spinwatch. |
Spin is a Public Relations tactic that is generally thought of as manipulative or deceptive communications that are employed to enhance the interests of the sponsor, and often implies an element of distortion or Disinformation. Practitioners of Spin are often referred to as Spin Doctors, who carry out Spin Doctoring.
The term Spin was initially applied to the news management techniques of political parties and the image-polishing of politicians, but has recently come to be used in describing the Propaganda activities of corporate and government interests[1].
Spin is often used to portray events and situations in a beneficial way for the sponsor, through heavily biased interpretation or unwitting Misinformation. Spin often presents only the evidence that supports the sponsor's position, neglects the evidence that conflicts with it, and assumes unproven facts to be wholehearted truths. The notion of Spin also extends to using euphemisms to cover up facts or make them ambiguous, as well as distorting facts to ride a story or burying facts to avoid having them
reported[2].
Resources
- Wikipedia, Spin (public relations): Description of spin
- Spinwatch, Spin: Articles regarding political, corporate and media Spin
- David Miller and William Dinan (2008), A Century of Spin: How Public Relations Became the Cutting Edge of Corporate Power: Critical look at Corporate PR, Spin and Propaganda
Notes
- ↑ David Miller and William Dinan (2008), A Century of Spin: How Public Relations Became the Cutting Edge of Corporate Power, accessed 07 April 2015, London: Pluto Press, pp.2-5.
- ↑ James Horton, The Dangers of Spin, Online Public Relations website, accessed 07 April 2015
